


Faded Photographs

by sabershadowkat



Series: Faded Photographs [1]
Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-31
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2018-04-12 04:34:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 29,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4465619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabershadowkat/pseuds/sabershadowkat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Angel's past walks into his future, and he must decide between saving a soul and true love.<br/>Post Warzone/Season 4</p>
            </blockquote>





	Faded Photographs

**Part One**  
  


_Los Angeles, 2000_  
  


"Angel, come look at this," Cordelia said.  
  


"Look at what?" Angel asked, looking up from the caricature of Wesley he was doodling on a legal pad.  
  


It was a quiet afternoon at the offices of Angel Investigations. The sun was shining behind the blinds, the secretary was complaining and the coffee was horrid. For once, there were no files to put in the filing cabinets, no weapons to be cleaned and no headache-inducing visions that signaled the start of another case.  
  


Angel was bored out of his mind.  
  


"This article in today's _Times_ ," Cordelia replied. "It all but screams demon handiwork."  
  


The dark-haired vampire quickly stood, rounded her desk and looked over her shoulder at the computer screen. "You didn't have a vision, did you?"  
  


"Would I not complain if I did?" she asked him blithely.  
  


"True," Angel agreed, giving her a half-smile. He skimmed the information on the screen and had to stop himself from dancing a jig. "You're right, it does sound like a demon. Plug in some of the key words into that Demons, Demons, Demons site you found and see what you pull up."  
  


"Got it," Cordelia said.  
  


Angel set his doodles aside and walked over to the coat hooks. "Give Wesley a call and let him know what you find. I'll go see if Kate can give me the information not published so we can narrow the parameters even-"  
  


The door to the office opened and Angel stopped speaking abruptly. He froze with his coat half-on and stared at the man standing cautiously in the doorway, not believing his eyes. _Brown hair?_  
  


"Pardon me, guv, I was wonderin' if you could 'elp me? I seem to be a-a bit lost," a familiar British voice quietly said.  
  


"Spike!"  
  


Bright blue eyes shot up at Cordelia's exclamation, but the well-known features were etched in confusion and embarrassment. "P-Pardon?"  
  


Two things hit Angel's senses simultaneously and both were coming from the person nervously standing just inside the doorway. An odd feeling rolled through his system at the sound of a second heartbeat and the unmistakable scent of fear. "Cordelia, call Sunnydale and ask them if Spike is there."  
  


"Um, hello blind-boy, Spike's standing right in front of us," Cordelia said.  
  


"Only if he found a Mohra demon," Angel said, not taking his eyes from the man. "Because this person is human."  
  


Cordelia blinked several times in shock before she turned and hurried into the inner office. "I'll go call."  
  


"You can come in," Angel said to the mortal who looked identical to Spike, save for the sable-colored hair and clothing.  
  


In fact, when Angel took a second note of the man's clothes, the hairs on the back of his neck raised. The clothing the human was wearing looked to be circa the late nineteenth century.  
  


"Th-thanks," the man stuttered, dropping his chin.  
  


Angel felt as though a two-by-four had been slammed through his body when he realized he knew exactly who was in front of him. The way the man shyly ducked his head, the flush that stole over his chiseled face and the redness to the tops of his ears revealed more than a full background check.  
  


The person standing in front of him _was_ Spike...  
  


"By the way, my name is Angel," Angel said.  
  


"I'm Tanner," the sable-haired man said, raising his blue eyes for a moment before dropping them again. "Er, that is, William J. Tanner, the third."  
  


... before Spike had been turned.  
  


*****  
  


_London, 1872_  
  


It was his shyness that caught the dark-haired vampire's attention.  
  


Angelus watched from the corner of the small dress shop as the young man blushed and stammered. His head was cast down and he refused to look at the shop girl standing on the opposite side of the counter. Angelus noticed his lean body was dressed in trousers and a jacket of good quality, indicating that he was a member of a middle class family. His sable-colored hair was longer than the current men's style and it was wavy almost to the point of curling.  
  


Drusilla danced out of the fitting room in a blood-red frock, laughing lightly. "How about this one, my Angel?" she asked.  
  


The vampiress' emergence from the fitting room caused the shop girl and the young man to look in their direction, and Angelus sucked in an unnecessary breath. Eyes as blue as the center of a flame met his and he felt as if he were being burned. High, sharp cheekbones slashed the young man's face, drawing Angelus' attention away from the slightly weak chin and directing it to the pale pink lips that were slightly parted as the mortal breathed.  
  


A delectable flush crept up the young man's neck and face, turning the tips of his ears bright red. He dropped his eyes and Angelus felt as though a plug had been pulled. The vampire watched as the young man twisted the material of his jacket, pulling the edges closed, but not before Angelus caught sight of the effect eye-contact had made on him.  
  


"Angel, my dress." Drusilla's voice held a pout. "You haven't told me that you like it."  
  


"It's beautiful, Dru," Angelus said, not sparing a glance at her. He kept his eyes on the young man as the shop girl redrew the brunette's attention. "Just like you are."  
  


Drusilla clucked her tongue and ran her hand up Angelus' arm as she headed back to the fitting room. "Someone's thinking naughty," she teased before disappearing again.  
  


The young man accepted a package from the shop girl and glanced back over at Angelus before hurrying out the door of the dress shop. Angelus didn't hesitate in following, not caring that he was leaving Drusilla alone in the shop. He knew the vampiress would continue to try on frocks and eventually kill the shop girl before returning home with whatever dress she wanted to keep.  
  


The area of London they were in wasn't as wretched as some of the other parts of the city. The streets were still dirty and the buildings a bit rundown, but the people walking from place to place were of a higher class. Uniformed police helped to keep the street vendors and thieves under control, and they kept the area somewhat clear of the homeless drunks that plagued the other areas.  
  


Angelus was able to track the sable-haired mortal easily. The young man walked with his head down and his arms close to his sides, as if he were trying to make himself as unnoticeable as possible. His steps were quick and he hugged the walls of the buildings, keeping an obvious distance between himself and the others on the sidewalks.  
  


A rather boisterous group of men suddenly exited one of the pubs in front of the young man and he froze as if terrified. Interesting, Angelus thought, as he stopped close enough to hear without being obtrusive.  
  


"Oi, look who we got here," one of the men said. "It's the cock-sucker!"  
  


"Bend over for anyone interestin' lately, shirtlifter?" a second inquired cruelly.  
  


The young man backed up, holding the package in front of him like a shield. "Leave m-me alone, y-y-you wankers."  
  


"Ooh, name-callin'," a third said. "The sod's grown some knackers."  
  


The first guy grabbed the package from the young man's hands. "Wonder what the little arsebandit's got?"  
  


"Oi, give it 'ere!" The young man tried to take it back, but two of the five men shoved him hard, sending him sprawling to the ground.  
  


"What's in it, Jeffrey?" the third asked the first.  
  


The man named Jeffrey tore open the brown wrapping then laughed loudly. "It's a bunch of ladies knickers!"  
  


The other men roared in laughter as Jeffrey pulled women's undergarments out of the package and tossed them in the air like confetti. Sheer stockings and garters rained down on the obnoxious group, a few of the men catching the garments and teasing each other in falsetto voices.  
  


"So this is what little Willy Cock-lover wears under his trousers," Jeffrey said. "Why am I not surprised?"  
  


"Them's me sister's, you soddin' fuck!" The young man had scrambled back to his feet and was standing with his arms up, his hands clenched into fists. Angelus noticed from where he was still observing that the brunette's wrists were turned too much, putting the backs of his hands towards his opponents, rather than holding his fists in the proper fighting form.  
  


"Look at this, the queerboy thinks 'e's gonna fight us," a fourth member of the group announced with a chortle.  
  


"Well, let's give the poof what he wants," the second said. His companions stopped laughing and stared at him. "I meant a beatin', not our pricks up his hole."  
  


"You'll do nothing of the sort!"  
  


Angelus watched with interest as a young woman rushed up to the group. He noticed that she was holding her fists in the proper manner as she stepped in front of the young man he'd followed from the shop.  
  


"You pillocks leave him alone before you have to deal with me!"  
  


"And it's Anna to the rescue again!" Jeffrey mocked, dropping the opened package to the ground. "Come on, mates. Me mum taught me never to hit a lady -- an' we got two of 'em here!"  
  


Laughing again, the group of men turned and headed in the opposite direction, tossing any undergarments they still held over their shoulders as they left.  
  


"Are you alright, Tanner?" Anna asked as she stepped out of her fighting stance. She was equal in height and had the same coloring as the young man, but when she turned to face him, Angelus saw the resemblance ended there.  
  


"Why did you do that, Anna?!" the young man, Tanner, exclaimed. "I could of handled 'em meself!"  
  


"Like you 'handled' them before?" Anna countered with a lift of her dark brow.  
  


"Sod off," Tanner said with a scowl.  
  


"Ducks, you know your sister would have had an eppy if you went home bloodied again," Anna said, bending down to gather the scattered undergarments. "She wouldn't let you out of the flat for a fortnight last time you got in trouble with Jeffrey and his chums."  
  


"Beth did nothing of the sort," Tanner protested, sticking the garments she gave him back into the ripped package.  
  


"Right."  
  


"She didn't!" Tanner glared at Anna. "I was watchin' Mellie after work so Beth could finish mending the bastard's clothing."  
  


"It's not polite to call your father that, luv," Anna scolded.  
  


"I'm twenty-four years old, I can call the bloody prick whatever I want," Tanner told her.  
  


"Not while you're living under his roof still," Anna said.  
  


"I could if I wanted to," Tanner grumbled.  
  


"You're shyer than a church mouse, Tanner," Anna said, squatting down in front of the young man. "If I wasn't your best mate, you'd never of stepped foot out of your flat, let alone even think of telling your father off."  
  


"I'm not shy," Tanner said. "I just don't like people."  
  


"Huh-uh," Anna said. "You can't lie to me, William Jacob Tanner, I know you too well."  
  


"Do not." Tanner scowled at her as he straightened, refilled package in his hands.  
  


"Do so," Anna countered. "You're five-ten, have a thirty-three inch waist and are super-shy unless you get super-mad."  
  


"Very impressive," Tanner mocked.  
  


"You love chocolate-covered cherries and hate wearing knickers," Anna continued, tapping the package with her finger.  
  


Tanner blushed. "Anna..."  
  


"You hate your father, love your sister and Mellie, tolerate your employment and wish you could meet a handsome gent who'll sweep you off your size ten feet and love you forever," Anna said.  
  


"Tell the whole bloody world, why don't you." Tanner ducked his chin and shifted from foot to foot in embarrassment.  
  


"Well, at least I didn't announce that you're technically still untouched," Anna said with a wicked smile.  
  


"I've had... relations," Tanner said, staring firmly at the ground.  
  


"Yeah, but only with me," Anna said. "An' you never actually penetrated-"  
  


"Oi, don't talk like that!" Tanner interrupted, his face flaming. "It's not fittin' for a lady!"  
  


"Pet, I've not been a lady my whole life," Anna said. "Which is why you prolly wanted to shag me to begin with."  
  


"Which, as you ever-so-nicely pointed out, I didn't really do," Tanner said wryly.  
  


She threw her arm around his shoulder and they started walking away. "Don't worry, Tanner. Someday you'll find a bloke who'll give you a right good seein' to and, when you do, I'll buy you a pint and we'll celebrate you loosin' your purity."  
  


"Anna, tell me again why I put up with you?"  
  


Angelus didn't hear Anna's response as the two humans walked out of earshot. He watched until they disappeared around a corner, then stood where he was for several long minutes, thinking about what he'd seen and heard. There was something about the young man that intrigued him, and he hadn't been this intrigued for at least a year.  
  


"Well, Mr. William Jacob Tanner, perhaps we'll meet again," Angelus said. His ominous chuckle drifted from the shadows as he disappeared into them. "Aye, and perhaps soon."

 

**Part Two**  
  


_Los Angeles, 2000_  
  
  


Tanner.  
  


The name curled through Angel's entire body, snaked right past his defenses and into his heart before the last syllable rolled off the sable-haired man's lips. The demon that shared his body went still and silent, making it seem as though he wasn't even there.  
  


Tanner fiddled with the hem of his jacket and looked at Angel through the fringes of his dark lashes. Longing filled the dark-haired vampire swiftly, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled sharply in reaction. He'd forgotten how the simplest of actions made him want to sweep Tanner up into his arms and cart the man to the nearest bed.  
  


No, not him, not Angel -- _Angelus._  
  


It was _Angelus's_ emotions Angel was feeling. It was _Angelus's_ memories Angel was recalling. It was _Angelus_ who was frozen in shock inside the body Angel shared with him.  
  


To _Angel_ , Tanner was only another human being... from the late nineteenth century.  
  


That last thought managed to snap Angel out of his daze. He cleared his throat and gestured to the chairs in front of Cordelia's desk. "Please, um, Tanner, have a seat."  
  


"That's all right, s-sir," Tanner said, his eyes firmly fixed on the floor. "If you'd just point me in the direction of Regent's Park, I'll be on me way."  
  


"I'm afraid it's not going to be that simple," Angel said.  
  


Tanner raised his head and met the vampire's eyes, a frown scrunching his dark brow. "Pardon?"  
  


It was at that very moment, while Angel held Tanner's blue gaze, that Angel realized he didn't feel the current of electricity Angelus had felt long ago. In fact, Tanner wasn't even reacting in the same way he did when he'd first seen the dark-haired vampire in the dress shop. Yes, he was still shy, but, with a quick glance at Tanner's trousers, Angel could see no evidence of a physical reaction.  
  


Interesting, Angel thought. He would have to puzzle out why that was at a later time. Right then, he had a mortal standing in his office who, for all intents and purposes, should be a cocky, bleached-blond, moronic vampire living in Sunnydale, California.  
  


"Tanner, please, sit," Angel repeated.  
  


Tanner lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug and walked over to the chairs. He sat as Angel moved to lean against Cordelia's desk, hands unconsciously curling around the edge of the surface. "What were you doing before you came in here?" Angel asked.  
  


"Walking home for supper," Tanner replied, staring past Angel at the back of the computer on the desk. "I was walking along, mindin' me own business, when the pavement changed under me feet."  
  


"Then what?" Angel prompted.  
  


"I looked up and almost pissed me trousers," Tanner said, then blushed heavily and dropped his eyes to his lap. "Er, p-pardon me language, guv."  
  


"That's okay, I've heard worse," Angel said, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice. "Just go on."  
  


"Right. Um..." Tanner twisted the hem of his jacket in a nervous gesture. "I looked up and didn't recognize anything, so-so I came inside the first place with doors, which was here." He cleared his throat and shifted on his seat. "Er, I saw these... carriages, I think..."  
  


"They're called cars," Angel supplied. "Carriages with motors."  
  


Tanner looked up at him in surprise. "Those were motors? They didn't look like the one I saw in the papers."  
  


"They're... advanced motors," Angel hedged. While he was certain that the man sitting in front of him really was the mortal Spike, he knew he'd better wait for confirmation from Sunnydale that the vampire was there before telling Tanner what had possibly befallen him.  
  


Tanner tilted his head slightly to one side, studying Angel. "Do I know you?"  
  


Angel started. "You recognize me?"  
  


The tips of Tanner's ears turned bright red and he dropped his chin. "I could be mistaken," he mumbled.  
  


"No," Angel said. "Tell me where you think you've seen me. Please."  
  


"Wilson's dress shop, a-a few nights back," Tanner said. "Only you-you had longer 'air an' you were with a chi- er, l-lady, in a red frock."  
  


He shifted in his seat again, pulling the edges of his jacked closed over his lap, but not before Angel caught glimpse of a telltale bulge beneath the tan-colored trousers. The mortal glanced up at him, then quickly away. "Never mind," Tanner said. "'Twasn't you."  
  


"How can you be sure?" Angel asked.  
  


The dark-haired vampire hadn't remember how red-faced Tanner could become when greatly embarrassed. The young mortal was as red as a stoplight, his blush going from his dark hair all the way down to disappear beneath the collar of his shirt.  
  


"I-I-I just know," Tanner stammered.  
  


He didn't feel it either, Angel thought with amazement. Tanner didn't feel that instant connection he'd had with Angelus all those years ago. The revelation was mind-boggling.  
  


The phone rang once and Tanner jumped in his seat. Angel glanced towards his office and saw that Cordelia had gotten the phone. "Tanner, this is going to sound strange, but will you tell me what date and year it is?" the dark-haired vampire said.  
  


"It's the, uh, Wednesday, the tw-twenty-fifth of May," Tanner answered. "In the year of-of our Lord Eighteen hundred and seventy-two."  
  


"That night," Angel said quietly to himself, staring down at the top of the sable-haired man's head as the memories washed over him. It was on that very night that Angelus had properly met Tanner. It was on that very night that Angelus had started down the path that would forever change both the vampire and the mortal sitting in front of Angel.

It was on that very night that Angelus had started to fall in love.

 

*****

 

_~London, Wednesday, 25 May, 1872  
7:43 p.m~ _

 

Angelus smiled as politely as he could at the dark-haired woman standing in the doorway to the modest two-storey flat. "'Tis o' the utmost importance I speak with Mr. Tanner this night."

"If you don't mind me not standin' on ceremony, I reckon you and your..."

"Sister," Angelus supplied, laying his hand in the center of Drusilla's back. "Drusilla."

"Right, well, you and your sister can come in and wait," the blue-eyed thirty-year-old woman said, stepping back from the doorway.

"Thank you, Miss..."

" _Missus_ Bradford," she corrected, as Angelus and Drusilla entered the house. "Beth Bradford."

"Aye, Mrs. Bradford," Angelus said. "Again, 'tis with many thanks."

Beth closed the door behind the two brunettes and shrugged. "It's your wait," she said. "Either you can do it here alone or you can follow me back to the kitchen and I'll make you a cuppa."

Angelus chuckled at her lack of propriety. "A cuppa sounds delightful, milady."

"Can we eat her?" Drusilla asked softly as she and Angelus followed Beth.

"No, Dru," Angelus replied quietly. "We're not here for that, remember?"

Drusilla gave him a wicked smile. "We're here to see Daddy's new pet."

"Aye," Angelus returned her smile, "that we are, my sweet."

Angelus had spent the past four nights learning everything he could about the sable-haired mortal from the dress shop. William Jacob Tanner, the third, was the only son of William Jacob Tanner, the second, a businessman of great respect and standing, and Elizabeth Tanner, who died while birthing a stillborn child. He was brother to Beth Bradford, whose husband had died from influenza three years prior; uncle to Beth's daughter, Melissa, or 'Mellie' for short; and he had a closest -- and possibly his only -- friend, Anna Edleton, who at one time lived next door to the Tanners.

The young man, an extremely shy twenty-four year old who went by the name of 'Tanner' so as not to be confused with his father, worked six days a week as a tailor at Crittendon's Tailor and Haberdasher. Angelus was able to find out that Tanner worked for not-too-bad of a wage from seven in the morning until six in the evening, doing the alterations and precise stitching in the backroom of the shop because he was too shy to wait on the customers. Mr. Crittendon had been finger-to-the-nose about the other reason why he had Tanner working only in the back.

It seemed that the bashful, handsome youth preferred the company of men to women.

That little tidbit of news worked quite to Angelus's favor. He'd already formulated an excellent plan, worked out to the very last detail, as was his way. He'd seduce the human -- whom he knew from listening that first night to be a tasty morsel of virgin flesh -- at the same time as he played off the young man's undoubtable insecurities about his sexuality. Then, after Angelus bedded the lad to his satisfaction, he'd publicly humiliate Tanner and, a week or so later, make it look like the sable-haired mortal committed suicide, thus shaming his family.

After that, of course, Angelus would let Drusilla gorge herself on the remaining Tanners of London. It was a wonderful plan. Even Dru was excited about it.

"I apologize about the mess, sir," Beth said as the three of them entered the homey kitchen. Trays of uncooked pastries littered the center table and counters, as did other baking supplies. It was curiously cool in the room, however, and there were no racks of just-baked pastries waiting to be sampled. "You caught me in the middle of making pastries for me father's luncheon guests tomorrow."

"'Tis all right, Mrs. Bradford," Angelus said. "'Tis gracious o' you t' allow us t' wait for your father at all. Besides..." He gave her a seductive smile as he ran his finger along the edge of a mixing bowl, then held the batter-covered digit up. "...this is the best part o' the pastry in my book."

Angelus sucked his finger into his mouth and watched as Beth's high cheekbones colored prettily before the brunette turned away. "If you say so, Mr. Angelus," she quickly said.

"What pretty pictures," Drusilla commented, standing beside a chalkboard easel in the corner of the kitchen. White chalk daisies covered the board, with tiny white field mice peering out between the stems like mischievous children. "Angel, what type of flowers are these?"

"Those are daisies," Beth answered for Angelus as she filled a kettle with water and set it on the stove. "My younger brother, Tanner, drew them for me daughter."

"I like daisies," Drusilla said. She gave Angel an imploring look. "May I have some?"

"We'll plant some when we get home, Drusilla," Angelus said to the vampiress. He turned his attention back to Beth. "Your brother does beautiful work, Mrs. Bradford. Is he here?"

"Yes, he's here," Beth replied, a scowl appearing on her face. "He went up top to check the flue forever ago so I could bake me pastries."

"Aye, well, mayhaps he fell down the chimney," Angelus said with a wink.

Beth laughed. "Perhaps. It wouldn't be the first time."

A door slammed and quick footsteps echoed on the hardwood floors in the room adjacent to the back of the kitchen. "Speak of the devil," Beth said with a smile.

"Beth, it's a good thing you didn't start your baking until I checked the flue," said a cheerful, male voice that grew louder as the man Angelus had really come to see entered the kitchen. "'Else you would have-"

Tanner stopped speaking and walking abruptly when his eyes met Angelus's across the room. The brunette's blackened hands were cupped one over the other in front of him, and his chiseled face was streaked with soot. His casual clothing was equally as dirty and there was a small rip in the collar of the shirt he was wearing.

Angelus had never seen anyone more handsome in his one hundred plus years.

The dark-haired vampire couldn't move or speak. He felt as though lightning had struck him and the electricity was still humming in his veins. The blue eyes that held his crackled with a fire that he wanted to be burned by. The distance between him and the other man seemed to shrink to nothing and, at the same time, they seemed to be a thousand miles apart.

"Tanner, you're all sooty," Beth scolded, yanking the two men out of their daze.

Tanner blushed three shades of red and dropped his chin, causing Angelus to stumble backwards a step as eye-contact was broken. The vampire swore silently and fluently, trying to stop himself from panting like a bitch in heat. He tugged on the hem of his coat for the first time in a century, hoping to cover the raging erection attempting to burst the seams of his trousers.

"Sorry, B-Beth," Tanner said. "I-I didn't know we 'ad company."

"Oi, me manners must've went the same way as Tanner's cleanliness," Beth said. "Tanner, this is Mr. Angelus and his sister, Miss Drusilla."

"Hello," Tanner mumbled, not moving or raising his chin.

Beth tisked. "That's not a proper way to greet a guest and you know it."

Angelus couldn't help but smile at Beth's refreshing bluntness. Most of the middle-class families he and Drusilla had feasted upon were so proper, he had wondered if they were born with sticks up their collective derrieres.

The color of the tops of Tanner's ears reminded Angelus of ripe strawberries as the young man crossed the kitchen, his eyes still firmly fixed on the floor. The vampire took the time to look the sable-haired mortal over from head-to-toe, and his erection swelled further when his gaze landed on an equally obvious bulge in the front of Tanner's soot-streaked trousers.

"It's, er, a-a pleasure to meet you, guv'ner," Tanner said quietly after he came to a stop in front of Angelus. He looked up under his lashes at the vampire. "Welcome to our home."

Angelus held out his hand for a handshake, wanting an excuse to touch the shy youth. Although, what he really wanted to do was throw Tanner onto the pastry-covered table, smother the human's body in pastry-jam and lick him clean. However, the vampire couldn't see that going over too well with Beth and it wasn't a part of his plan.

And it was a very good plan.

"'Tis also a pleasure, Tanner," Angelus said in a purposely seductive tone.

Tanner abruptly thrust his right hand forward towards Angelus's outstretched hand, then, just as suddenly, muttered under his breath, "Fuck."

Angelus stared down at Tanner's hand. A baby bird stared back up at him.

"Cheep, cheep."

"There's a bird in your hand," Angelus said with amusement. "Is it for me?"

The vampire watched unbelievingly as Tanner turned an even deeper shade of red, the blush going down past the torn collar of his shirt. "Um, s-sorry," the sable-haired young man stammered. "She was in the flue. I was going to show 'er to Mel- er, me niece."

Tanner switched the bird to his other hand as he extended his right hand properly. "Many apologies, sir."

Angelus smiled and clasped his hand firmly. "'Tis all... right...," the vampire trailed off as something squished between their palms.

"Oh bugger," Tanner muttered.

"My Angel has a little bird mess on his hand," Drusilla sang softly.

"Tanner, you daft boy, you're supposed to wipe your bloody hands off first!" Beth scolded, throwing a towel at him.

Tanner lifted his head briefly and gave Angelus a lopsided, sheepish smile. "Er... sorry?"

Angelus threw back his head and laughed as his insides tingled from the boy's smile.

Fuck the plan.

"Cheep, cheep."

 

*****

 

_~Los Angeles, Thursday, May 25, 2000  
3:31 p.m.~_

 

Tanner scrambled to his feet as Cordelia came back into the room, speaking a mile a minute. "Well, Giles said Spike's still there, bitching that people keep disturbing his nappy time and trying to convince everyone he's still the mean and evil dork he once was, which we all know is a load of crap."

Angel wondered if there were classes on tact that he could enroll Cordelia in. "Um, Cordelia," he said, gesturing to Tanner, who was staring at the secretary in shock. "We have a guest."

Cordelia snorted. "Don't you mean a 'ghost'?"

"Tanner," Angel said with a sigh. "This is Cordelia, my secretary. Cordelia, Tanner. And yes, he is who you think he is."

Tanner put his hand out politely and Cordelia gave it a good shake. "Well, he definitely feels human," she commented. She grabbed his wrist with her other hand, positioning her fingers on the inside. "And he has a pulse that's racing." She looked at Tanner critically. "I hope you're eating right, because with a ticker that quick, look out, heart attack city."

"Cor, she's just like Anna," Tanner said in wonder.

Angel felt a growl erupt from the back of his throat and he clasped a hand over his mouth in surprise. Cordelia shot him a puzzled glance and Tanner looked at him with an equally confused expression. "Um, excuse me. I had a soda at, uh, lunch," Angel explained lamely.

"Right," Cordelia said. "Because you Do the Dew all the time."

"I do the what?" Angel said.

Cordelia ignored him and sat, her grip on Tanner pulling him down with her. He quickly took the seat across from her. "So, you're the human Spike. Tell me _all_ about yourself."

"Er..."

"Cordelia, I didn't tell him about... his situation," Angel said.

"Why not? I heard what year he thinks it is." Cordelia leaned towards Tanner, not giving Angel time to answer, and said slowly, "Tanner, you're in the future. Few-cherrr. It's not 18- whatever-you-said. God, can you imagine if it was? Those clothes were so ugly and, yuck, no toilets."

Tanner looked up at Angel. "Is your bird always this..."

"Yes," Angel replied with a firm nod of his head. "Always."

"Hey, I'm not a bird!" Cordelia exclaimed. "Do you hear me going 'cheep cheep'?"

Angel's mouth dropped open at the brunette's chosen words. The demon inside of him started to stir again.

"Okay, listen to me, Tanner," Cordelia went on. "It's the year 2000. The big Y2K. The second millennium, yada, yada, ho-hum. Got it?"

"Right," Tanner said warily. "The year 2000." He pulled his hand back from Cordelia, stood and backed towards the door. "I'd, er, best be going. Long trek home and all."

"You're, like, a million miles and a couple hundred years away from home, buddy," Cordelia said. "I doubt you'll get very far."

"Cordelia, out," Angel said abruptly. "Now."

Cordelia huffed, stood and headed back into the other office. "Fine. I was just trying to break it to him that he's boldly gone where no man has gone before..."

Angel moved quickly and shut the door behind her. He turned and faced Tanner, who was still inching towards the main door. "Tanner, as much as it pains me to say this, Cordelia was right."

"Uh-huh." Tanner nodded in agreement, and Angel could tell it was out of fear. "She's was right. I believe 'er."

"It's the truth, although I wasn't going to break it to you quite like she did," Angel said. He spotted yesterday's newspaper in the recycle box, walked over and quickly grabbed it. "Here. This is yesterday's 'Times.' The date is printed across the top."

Tanner froze as Angel headed to him, his once red-in-embarrassment skin turning white with fear. Angel stopped moving immediately and held the paper out towards Tanner, extending his arm as far as possible. The sable-haired man stared at him for a very long time before he reached out a shaky hand to take it. Angel continued to keep silent as Tanner lowered his eyes to scan the header.

The newspaper hit the floor an instant before Tanner did.

 

**Part Three**

 

_Los Angeles, 2000_  
  


Angel was unable to stop himself from burying his nose in Tanner's hair and inhaling as he carried the unconscious man to the couch. Tanner smelled of old London, which wasn't all too pleasant, but underneath Angel smelled tailor's chalk and honeysuckle and pure human maleness.

The dark-haired vampire laid Tanner down on the couch, knelt beside him and unconsciously nuzzled the soft area behind his ear. A low purr rumbled from Angel's chest as he inhaled a second time. No one but Tanner had ever smelled of honeysuckle soap, which was handmade by the mortal's sister. Angel remembered how strong the scent was the night he and Tanner-

"Angel, what are you doing?"

Angel shoved back from the couch in surprise and skidded several feet across the tile floor on his backside. The vampire looked up at Wesley with wide-eyes. "Wesley! I didn't hear you come in."

"If you don't mind my asking," Wesley began. He glanced at Tanner then looked back at Angel. "Where's Cordelia?"

"Other office," Angel said, pointing over his shoulder.

Wesley nodded and headed in that direction. "Well, carry on."

"Don't you want to know who he is?" Angel asked, climbing to his feet.

"I am certain Cordelia will fill me in," Wesley said.

Angel stared in confusion as the ex-Watcher entered the inner office and shut the door behind him. If Angel had caught Wesley with his face near another man's neck...

The dark-haired vampire silently cursed. Wesley was going to see if there was need to get the stakes out. On the one hand, it was a smart thing to do. On the other, it cut Angel deeply. Damn Rebecca and her stupid pills.

Angel crossed to the mini-refrigerator to get some water for Tanner, shoving the guilt and hurt feelings aside. He had a human in his office that belonged in another place and time. A human who, at one time, he'd touched and held and loved.

Angel shut the refrigerator door and leaned against it, his eyes immediately going to the still form on the couch as he tried to gather his thoughts. Everything was muddled, especially his emotions. A part of him wanted to walk over to the couch, wrap his arms around Tanner and never let go. The other part wanted to call Buffy.

The word confusion couldn't come close to describing what Angel was feeling. He was Angelus, but he wasn't. The demon he resided within him may have been the one in control when he first met and loved Tanner, but Angel was the one recalling all of the memories. It was still with these eyes that he had once watched Tanner for hours. He had listened to the young man with these ears and had laughed with this voice at the human's wry jokes. These hands had touched Tanner. These lips had tingled after their first kiss. These insides had melted each time Tanner smiled shyly at him.

Tanner stirred and Angel headed over to him, formulating a plan of action in his mind that didn't involve soft sheets and candlelight. The ensouled vampire's first priority was to find out why Tanner had stepped through time and into his office. Angel wouldn't believe that it was just by accident. The second step was to figure out what to do with that information.

Angel stopped at the bottom corner of the couch near Tanner's boot-clad feet, not wanting to loom over the sable-haired mortal as he rejoined the future world. Angel watched as Tanner's eyes fluttered open and the cerulean orbs focused on him. He heard the human's heartbeat speed up and he extended the bottle of water in what he hoped was a non-threatening gesture.

"It wasn't a soddin' dream, was it?" Tanner said.

Angel shook his head. "No. I'm sorry, but you're really in the future."

"Me father's going to kill me," Tanner muttered under his breath. "And Anna's going to kill me for not bringin' 'er along."

The mention of Tanner's friend's name made Angel's lips curl back in a sneer before he could stop them. Luckily, Tanner had looked away as he sat up. Angel didn't want to scare Tanner any more than the young man already was.

If Angel couldn't control his reactions whenever Anna's name was spoken he was going to be in big trouble, because Anna had been the extremely shy young man's only friend and the two had been very close. Tanner had no idea what was going to occur between him and his friend after he was turned into a vampire. Tanner didn't even know that, if he had still been in his own time, that very night he would have met the man he'd been waiting for to sweep him off his size ten feet.

"Here," Angel said, slightly shaking the water bottle in his hand. "It's water."

Tanner gave the bottle a funny look before taking it from Angel's hand. "Thanks."

The inner office door opened and Wesley and Cordelia stepped through the doorway. "Angel," Cordelia said, rubbing her temples. "You remember that article we were looking at on the computer before the blast from your past came in? You need to go do something about it."

"Where?" Angel asked.

"Somewhere in Bel Air," Cordelia said as she walked over to her desk and retrieved her purse. "I'll recognize the place when I see it."

"I'll stay here," Wesley said. He nodded towards Tanner. "Cordelia has filled me in on the... situation. I'll see what I can find out while you're gone."

"Right." Angel turned to Tanner. "Tanner, I need to go and, um, work. This is Wesley, my associate. He's going to stay with you, okay?"

Tanner glanced at Wesley, looked up at Angel, then dropped his chin and nodded. Angel could see him nibble nervously on his lower lip and the dark-haired vampire suddenly wanted to nibble it for him.

Definitely time to leave, Angel thought, purposely moving away from Tanner. "We'll be back as soon as we can. Let's go, Cordelia."

 

*****

 

A kick, punch and sickening crunch later, the demon was dead and the sun had set in the sky. Angel ran a weary hand over the back of his neck, grimacing when it felt sticky. He had muddy- yellow demon innards and blood spattered all over him, and he smelled worse than a landfill in August. Cordelia had almost made him walk home, but then he reminded her that it was his car and she relented... only because the car was a convertible and the sun had gone down.

The dark-haired vampire started in surprise when he found Wesley and Tanner in his kitchen upon entering his apartment. They were both chatting amicably, although Tanner's head was cast down, and eating what Angel assumed was dinner.

Angel took a step in their direction then stopped, remembering he smelled like he went swimming in the fountain of puke. He cleared his throat and raised a hand in greeting. "Hi. I'm back."

Tanner glanced at him, blushed and dropped his eyes again. "Hel-hello," he greeted softly.

"My word, Angel, I hope that's not all yours," Wesley said, rising from his seat. Angel waved him back down. "No, I'm fine. The, uh, child at the... er, mud races... has been...uh, helped." Yeah, that wasn't a bad lie, he thought derisively.

"Ah, good," Wesley said. "Tanner and I were having a bit of dinner. I hope that's all right with you that we invaded your kitchen?"

"Yes," Angel replied. "Keep eating. I'm going to take a shower."

Tanner began to cough suddenly and Angel started for the young man without hesitation. "Tanner, are you okay?"

Tanner nodded rapidly, his eyes firmly focused on his plate. "Fine," he gasped between coughs. "I'm fine."

Angel pulled up short of reaching the sable-haired human when he recognized the telltale flush of arousal staining Tanner's skin. Instantly, the vampire pivoted on his heel and headed back towards his bedroom.

"Clean. Me. Now getting," he said over his shoulder, his mind too focused on getting as far away from Tanner as he could before he took the lad right then and there to speak intelligently.

Angel closed the bathroom door, locked it and leaned back against it as he reigned in his control. He thumped his head on the wood of the door several times, repeating with each hit: "bad, bad, bad, bad, bad..."

There might not have been that intense connection between him and Tanner that there'd been between Angelus and the human, but that didn't mean the sable-haired youth didn't find him attractive. Tanner was a young, healthy, sexy-as-hell homosexual. Why shouldn't he get aroused at the word picture Angel had painted? Heck, if Tanner said he was going to take a shower, Angel would have had to bite his tongue in order not to volunteer to wash those hard-to-reach places.

"Horny old pervert," Angel muttered to himself. He forced himself away from the door after a final bang of his head and began to strip out of his demon-soiled clothing. "Tanner is off-limits, curse or not. You love Buffy. You desire Buffy. You fantasize about Buffy whenever you get free time to act like a horny old pervert. Although, there were those few about Doyle..."

Angel twisted the shower knob with more force than necessary after he stepped into the shower. "No, not Doyle either," he grumbled. "No men. No women. No friends. No enemies. Not even sheep. Okay, now I'm scaring myself. And talking to myself. Oh god, I'm *babbling* to myself. I've channeled my inner-Willow."

The dark-haired vampire closed his eyes and started to laugh. He stuck his gunked-up head under the shower spray. He hadn't thought of his one-time redheaded friend since he saw her last November. He wondered how she was doing. Maybe he'd drop her a letter "just to say hey," as Cordelia would put it. She'd probably be intrigued by the presence of Tanner.

"You managed to not think about him for five whole seconds," Angel sighed as he grabbed the soap. "This is going to be a long night."

He concentrated on getting the muddy-yellow demon guts off his body and not thinking about the human who was once the most important thing in his undead world.

Angel's brow furrowed slightly as that thought came to him. Tanner, the shy, handsome *human*, was the most important thing in his soulless self's unlife at one time. Angelus had loved Tanner fiercely and would have done anything, including taking a walk out into the sunlight, just to see Tanner's smile.

Angel had told Buffy that he'd only loved one person, and that person was her. He hadn't lied to her. With his soul, both as a vampire and as a mortal named Liam, he _had_ only loved one person.

But, residing within his body and keeping him 'alive', was a demon whose thoughts and desires intermingled so much with his own it was hard to tell where he ended and the demon began. It was one of the reasons why he didn't usually delineate between himself and the demon. In this instance, though, the difference between Angel and the demon was great, because the demon had also only loved one person in his entire existence -- the human named Tanner.

Stepping back under the spray, Angel rinsed the soap from his body as he continued to think. Angelus had told Drusilla and Spike that he hated Buffy because she made him feel human, but that wasn't the entire truth. Angelus hated Buffy because she had made him have feelings similar to the ones he'd once had for Tanner a century prior to Angelus being freed again. To the demon's mind it made what Angelus had with Tanner cheap somehow, and that was something he'd never admit in front of the vampire Tanner had become.

With another sigh, Angel turned off the shower, toweled himself off and left the bathroom to dress. He could hear the soft tones of Tanner's voice as the young man spoke with Wesley. He moved closer to the bedroom doorway to listen.

One of his greatest pleasures had been sitting and listening to Tanner speak, because he didn't hold conversations with just anyone. Wesley was lucky to be able to get a single word out of the super-shy mortal. It had taken Angel quite a bit to get Tanner to even look at him the first time they went out together. But when Tanner had finally met his eyes straight on, as they sat across the table from each other in the pub, all the frustration he'd felt had been worth it.

 

*****

  
_~London, Friday, 27 May, 1872~_

  
Angelus felt an odd flip-flop in his stomach as he rang the bell to the Tanner's home. If it wasn't such a ridiculous notion, he'd think that he was nervous.

"Mr. Angelus," Beth greeted upon opening the door. "Back so soon?"

"Aye," Angelus replied. "Is Tanner in, please?"

"No, me father is out for the eve-"

"Nay, not your father," Angelus interrupted. "Your brother."

Beth arched her brow. "You want to see me brother?"

Angelus nodded. "I wanted t' see if he'd like t' go get a pint with me."

The expression of amazement that crossed Beth's face surprised Angelus. He knew that Tanner wasn't the social bug, but the lad _had_ to have been asked to get a drink before.

"Come in, Mr. Angelus," Beth said, stepping back from the doorway.

"Many thanks, Mrs. Bradford," Angelus said politely, entering the Tanner household for the second time.

Beth closed the door behind him. "I'll get Tanner."

As she walked away, Angelus patted his black overcoat, checking to make sure he still had the money he'd stolen from his dinner the prior night. He was dressed casually for an evening of going to a pub, rather than his usual finery; simple white shirt, black trousers, his worn black riding boots. He put a hand to his hair, hoping the slight May breeze didn't make the dark, six-inch, brushed-back tresses stick up all over.

"H-Hello," Tanner greeted softly as he entered the foyer. His head was downcast and the tips of his ears were red. "Beth said you wanted to-to see me?"

Angelus's body hardened at the sight of the young man and he felt a strange pang in the center of his chest. "Ay-e." His voice cracked on the word and he cleared his throat before trying again. "Aye, 'tis correct."

Tanner looked up at Angelus, but his gaze quickly skittered away. He nervously played with a the button on his off-white shirt just above the waistband of his dark brown trousers. "Oh... er..."

"I was hopin' you'd come out t' the pub with me," Angelus said.

"Why?"

Angelus was surprised by the extreme wariness in Tanner's tone. The lie he'd prepared felt awkward when he said it and his brogue deepened because of it. "I be new t' London an' ye seemed like a nice enough lad close t' me age that me thought mayhaps ye'd be willin' t' get a pint wit' me."

Tanner nibbled on his lower lip and studied Angelus under his lashes. "I-I can't."

"What?" Angelus said incredulously. The beginnings of anger replaced his surprise. "Ye mind tellin' me why ye canna? The truth, lad. I've no patience fer lies."

"You-you-you said you're new to L-London," Tanner stammered, staring down at his feet. "If you're seen with me, you-you'll make no other m-mates. You'll b-be labeled a-a-a qu-queer."

"Yer point?"

Tanner's head snapped up and he stared at Angelus, wide-eyed. "What do you mean?"

Angelus felt fire seep into his veins when his eyes locked with Tanner's and he knew right then that he had to be honest if he wanted to have the young man willingly come to his bed. And he very much wanted Tanner willingly in his bed.

"I lied t' you, Tanner," he said, his thick brogue slipping away into his more cultured, Irish-lilted speech as his anger vanished. "I'm not new t' London. I want you t' come out with me because I want t' get t' know you. And if you fear what others will say, don't bother," he winked at Tanner, "because 'twill be the truth."

The dark-haired vampire watched as a red flush slowly crept over the young man's skin. Tanner broke eye-contact and put his hands one over the other in front of the growing bulge in his trousers. The scent of arousal assailed Angelus's senses and it took all his willpower not to pounce on Tanner right there in the foyer. Despite the sable-haired youth's obvious desire for him, Angelus knew Tanner's shyness would make him flee if the vampire made that sort of sexual overture.

"Well, will you be comin' then?" Angelus asked, tongue-in-cheek.

Tanner's flush grew so deep in color, he looked like he smeared cranberry jam all over his face. "I-i-i-if y-you wish m-me to," he stuttered, extremely flustered.

Angelus chuckled. "Grab your coat, lad. 'Tis a bit nippy out this night."

"Right." Tanner turned on his heels and practically bolted from the foyer.

Less than three seconds later, Beth strode purposely up to him, a hard look to her face. "Now you bloody well listen here, Mr. Angelus," she said in a harsh whisper. "You'd best not be messing with Tanner or I'll get me father's cane and tan your soddin' hide, no matter how big you think you are. I've bandaged him enough and watched him close himself off too many bleedin' times because he'd been hurt by other pillocks who've said they wanted to be chums, only to turn around and beat him because he's different.

"Tanner is a soft soul, Mr. Angelus," Beth continued. "He's always been shy, but his shyness has steadily grown more pronounced since he became a man some nine years ago. If you want to be his mate, good, because a person should have more than one chum. If you want to be more than his mate, that's good, too, as long as you don't hurt him. If you're just here to get a bloody cheap laugh, you can turn around and march out that door straight to hell."

She's like a mother hen with her feather's ruffled, Angelus thought, keeping the smirk from his face. "I've not designs t' hurt the lad, milady," he told her. "I just be wantin' t' get t' know him."

Beth nodded. "Right then. I'll leave you to him. But remember my warning."

She started to walk away the same time that Tanner returned, wearing a calf-length black overcoat. "I'm going out, Beth," the sable-haired man told his sister.

"I know, luv," Beth said. "Enjoy yourself. I'll see you on the morn."

Tanner gave her a small smile, which she returned before continuing back to the kitchen. He glanced at Angelus and ducked his head. "I'm ready, guv."

"Call me Angelus, Tanner," Angelus instructed as he reached for the door. "And stick close t' me. There be all sorts o' nasty things out this time o' night."

"Right... Angelus."

Angelus never realized the sound of his own name could cause his toes to curl.

 

*****  
  


Angelus held the door open and allowed his companion to proceed him into the pub on Drummond Street. The pub was fairly crowded and the scent of unwashed bodies, ale and smoke was heavy in the air. The furnishings were worn, a testament to the longstanding establishment. Boisterous voices carried across the room, from the long bar to the tables to the dart boards, as friends greeted friends, fights were picked and settled, and complaints were emphatically made about work and women.  
  


"Try t' find us a table, lad, and I'll get us our pints," Angelus instructed, leaning closer to Tanner to speak near the young man's ear. He smelled the faint scent of honeysuckle coming from Tanner's hair and skin and it sent a sliver of arousal to his groin.  
  


"Right," Tanner agreed, moving further into the pub.  
  


Angelus made his way to the bar and quickly ordered two drinks. His gaze slowly traveled around the room as he waited for the bartender to fill his order, his eyes noting possible hazards and the exits. He took in the general mood of the patrons. He didn't want his first outing with Tanner to be tainted with violence.  
  


Ah, Tanner, Angelus thought, his gaze easily landing on where the sable-haired man had claimed a table. There was something about the youth that pulled on him in ways he hadn't felt before. Yes, the sexual attraction was high between them, but Angelus had the insane desire to want to see Tanner simply smile at him, and he didn't know why.  
  


Picking up the matching tankards, Angelus headed towards the saved table. Tanner looked up when Angelus was partway across the room and he inhaled sharply when his eyes locked with the other man's. There was no question, Angelus had to have this human.  
  


"I see you've found us a good one, Tanner," Angelus said, placing the amber liquid on the table before sitting down across from the young man.  
  


"Got l-lucky," Tanner said, his long fingers curling around the tankard before him as he dropped his gaze.  
  


"Aye, you did," Angelus said. "There seems t' be a bit o' a crowd this night. Is it always like this?"  
  


Tanner shrugged, his gaze focused on the alcohol.  
  


"Tanner, I'm goin' t' warn you only once. You are t' answer me when I speak t' you," Angelus said with irritation. "If I wanted t' have a conversation with meself, I would've brought Drusilla out instead o' you."  
  


"S-s-s-sorry," Tanner stuttered. "I c-can't... I don't..." He stopped, swallowed, darted an uncomfortable glance around at the other patrons, then went on. "...I'm not good w-with people."  
  


"Dinna worry about them, focus on me," Angelus said. "I know you're shy, lad, but I'm not goin' t' bite you right at this very moment."  
  


"So, are y-you planning on doing it l-later, then?" Tanner ventured with a heavy blush and a hesitant half-smile, glancing up at the vampire from under his long lashes.  
  


"Aye, Tanner, I just might," Angelus replied with a chuckle. He leaned forward and added devilishly, "But you'll never guess where."  
  


"At Euston Station?" Tanner joked shyly, his words almost running together as he said them.  
  


Angelus laughed loudly, drawing the nearby patrons' attention to him. "Mayhaps at Euston Station, aye."  
  


Tanner raised his head and gave Angelus a bashfully happy smile, his eyes crinkling in the corners. Angelus was extremely glad he was seated because the world shifted under his feet. It was the first time Tanner had fully smiled and the effects were devastating. Angelus didn't know whether to laugh in joy, puff up with pride for causing the smile or throw the boy down onto the floor and make mad passionate love with him.  
  


Angelus chose the second option, straightened in his chair and gave Tanner a rapscallious grin in return. "'Tis a good sense o' humor you have there, lad. I'd best be on me toes, lest you out-jest me."  
  


Tanner colored with pleasure, the tips of his ears taking on a rosy hue. He dropped his chin and fiddled with the tankard on the table.  
  


"So, Tanner, tell me what do you do t' earn your keep," Angelus said, even though he already knew, before taking a draught from his drink. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed one burly patron sitting a few tables away had taken an interest in them.  
  


"I'm a tailor," Tanner said, his voice soft, but mostly stutter-free. "I work for Mr. Crittendon o-over in Euston Square."  
  


"Do you enjoy it?" Angelus asked, glad that the sable-haired mortal had taken heed of his warning and also seemed to be relaxing a bit.  
  


"It's all right," Tanner replied with a shrug. He traced his finger down the side of the tankard, creating a clear path through the moisture. "I get to work alone, which is a good thing," his lips curled up in a smile, "and I get to make eyes at who comes in without being seen..."  
  


He abruptly blushed a brilliant shade of magenta. "Pre-pretend y-you didn't 'ear that l-last bit."  
  


Angelus chuckled. "Nay, dinna worry, Tanner. 'Tis something I do meself and quite often, as well."  
  


"Well, well, what 'ave we 'ere? Looks like good ol' Willy's got 'imself a new mate."  
  


Tanner blanched and seemed to curl into himself when the man Angelus had been keeping an eye on came up to their table. Angelus frowned at Tanner, then swept his irritated gaze up to the large man standing beside them. The vampire recognized him as being one of the people who'd bothered Tanner a week prior.  
  


"Go a-a-away, M-Mick," Tanner stammered in a small voice.  
  


Mick ignored Tanner and focused on Angelus. "I thought I'd come over and give warnin'. It bein' as how I've not seen you round 'ere before, I figured you must be a newcomer to the north end."  
  


Angelus didn't reply to the subtle prompt as to his newness in the city, he only arched his brow and waited.  
  


"Right then," Mick said. "Just thought I'd tell you Willy 'ere is a great steamin' poof, so you'd best get far away before you're bloody well labeled that yourself."  
  


Before Angelus could tell the man off, Tanner spoke up angrily, surprising the vampire. "Don't call m-me that, y-you effin' ponce."  
  


"I'm tremblin' in me boots," Mick said. "What're you goin' to do, nancyboy, tell your mummy?"  
  


"I'm goin' to break your bloody jaw, that's what," Tanner said, rising to his feet.  
  


The shy one had backbone, Angelus thought with a touch of pride. He'd seen it briefly the week before, but he didn't know he'd get to see it again so soon. And it was nice that Tanner did have some balls to stand up for himself. Intriguing shyness aside, there was such a thing as being too pathetically weak, and that was something Angelus couldn't stomach more than a few days. One Drusilla was enough.  
  


Mick laughed mockingly as he took a step closer to Tanner. The other man towered over Tanner by close to a foot and had at least a hundred pounds on the youth. "Go ahead," Mick leaned forward and pointed to his chin, "give 'er your best shot."  
  


Tanner's hands were clenched into trembling fists at his sides and Angelus could hear the boy's heart pounding loudly despite the noise in the pub. The vampire could tell Tanner was scared, both of getting a beating and of losing face in front of him. Angelus knew he could help -- Mick was no threat to him at all -- but that would end up making things awkward between him and the sable-haired mortal.  
  


Angelus folded his hands behind his head and relaxed back in his chair. If things got too out of hand, he'd help, but, until then, he'd allow Tanner to fight his own battle. And, much later, he'd kill Mick for interrupting his night out with the handsome youth.  
  


"Just leave us alone," Tanner said, glaring up at Mick.  
  


Mick snorted and straightened. "Right. Like I'm goin' to listen to your soddin' demands."  
  


"Who do you think will listen when I start spreadin' the word about how good you are in the sack?" Tanner asked him, his voice low and angry. "Or about how I loved feelin' your hand wrapped around me prick, wankin' me off? Or how you begged me to suck you and use me fingers to-"  
  


Mick's fist flew out and smashed into Tanner's eye. Tanner staggered a step back, caught his knees on the chair and sat down hard as he lost his balance. The bigger man snagged Tanner by his off-white shirt, lifted him back out of the chair and right off his feet.  
  


"You an' me are goin' outside," Mick growled, practically nose-to-nose with Tanner.  
  


"Anxious to bugger me, lover?" Tanner said in soft falsetto.  
  


Mick's face turned purple and his arms began to shake from withholding his fury. "I'm goin' to break you in 'alf an' make you suck your own cock, you fucking nonce."  
  


"Me cock's long enough that I can do that without the pain...," Tanner winked at him, "...but you already knew that, didn't you, pet?"  
  


Oh hell, how Angelus wanted the boy. He was very glad he chose not to interfere, because he'd never have gotten to see the fire within the handsome man. That friend of Tanner's, Anna, had said something about the mortal being shy unless he was mad, and she hadn't lied one bit.  
  


Mick sputtered in rage and Tanner used the opportunity of the brute's speechlessness to wrap his hands partially around Mick's biceps, close the distance between their faces, and give Mick a short kiss right on the lips.  
  


Angelus hooted in laughter at the same time Mick threw Tanner away from him. Tanner crashed back into the chair, taking it over with him as he toppled to the floor. Patrons cleared out of the way and several yelled bets back and forth as the bigger man stomped over to Tanner and kicked him in the ribs.  
  


The vampire decided he'd better step in before his soon-to-be bedmate was too injured to participate. Without any trouble, Angelus grabbed Mick's shoulder, spun the man around and coldcocked him. Mick's eyes rolled up and he dropped bonelessly to the floor... right on top of Tanner.  
  


"Oi, get this pillock off me," Tanner grunted.  
  


Angelus effortlessly moved Mick aside and offered a hand to Tanner. "You okay, boy?" the vampire asked as he helped Tanner to his feet.  
  


Tanner hissed and pressed his right arm close to his side. "Yeah, I'm peachy."  
  


Angelus shook his head in amusement, threw his arm around Tanner's shoulder and led the young man out of the pub. "That was quite the interetin' fight, Tanner," the vampire commented once they were out on the street.  
  


"I don't n-normally do that," Tanner said.  
  


"Well, what do you normally do?" Angelus asked.  
  


"Get the tar beat out of me," Tanner replied, giving the vampire a quick grin.  
  


Angelus chuckled. "Aye, well, if it be any consolation, you were about t' have that happen."  
  


"Thanks, mate," Tanner said sarcastically.  
  


The short walk back to Tanner's flat, on Hampstead Road, was made in companionable silence. Angelus warned off a vampire with a flash of his golden eyes when the fledgling made to attack from an alley, but the rest of the trip was without mishap.  
  


There was a gas lamplight directly in front of the Tanner residence, which cast a cheery, flickering glow on the sidewalk and against the front facade of the home. Angelus made mental note to make certain the lamplight was always lit, thus creating less of a temptation for other creatures of the night to attack Tanner as he fumbled for his key. Not that he planned on allowing another night to pass without being at the mortal's side.  
  


"Right, well, th-this is m-me," Tanner said, his shy stutter returning. He turned to face Angelus as he pocketed his key after unlocking the door.  
  


"Aye," Angelus said. "You'd best put somethin' cold on that eye o' yours. 'Tis already turnin' an attractive shade o' bishop's blue."  
  


"Al-alright," Tanner said, twisting the edges of his overcoat, his dark head downcast. "I, er, g-guess I'll see you s-sometime."  
  


"On the morrow, eight o'clock," Angelus said. "And, if I'm a lucky man, our second courtin' eve will be as entertainin' as this one."  
  


Tanner's head shot up, in what was becoming a familiar manner to Angelus, and the young man's eyes were huge as he met the vampire's steady gaze. "Courting?"  
  


"Aye, 'tis what I'm doin'...," Angelus gave him a dry smile, "...'less I'm doin' it wrong."  
  


Tanner's voice squeaked as he replied, "No."  
  


"No, I'm doin' it wrong, or no, I'm doin' it right?" Angelus teased.  
  


"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-"  
  


"Breathe, lad," Angelus interrupted. "Lest you swoon like a woman." The dark-haired vampire struck a thoughtful pose. "Hmm, on second thought, swoon away. I'd be happy t' catch you in me arms."  
  


Tanner sucked in a large breath of air and backed up until he hit the front door to his home. His heart was hammering so loudly, Angelus was afraid it was going to come right out of the boy's chest. The vampire decided he'd better stop playing with Tanner before he scared the shy man into not wanting to go out with him the following night. Plus, he had an interfering mortal named Mick he wanted to hunt and kill.  
  


"Go ahead inside, Tanner," Angelus told the sable-haired lad softly. "I'll see you on the morrow."  
  


Tanner nodded rapidly, his hand searching for the door handle without looking. One corner of Angelus's mouth curled up at the young man's actions and he took a single step back when Tanner finally got the door open.  
  


"Goodnight," Angelus said with a polite dip of his head.  
  


"'N-n-night," Tanner stammered in a higher-than-normal tone of voice.  
  


Angelus started away and chuckled to himself when his enhanced hearing picked up Tanner's softly-spoken, amazed words before the human shut the door.  
  


"Cor, I'm being courted." 

 

**Part Four**  
  


_Los Angeles, Saturday, 27 May, 2000_  
  


Two days had passed since Tanner had appeared back in Angel's life. Two days of researching and sleeplessness and bittersweet memories. Two days filled with daydreams and nightmares of times long past, invoked by the sable-haired human who had no idea what he'd meant to the vampire.  
  


Angel couldn't stop the memories that kept overwhelming him over the past two days. The remembrances weren't in any particular order, just random snippets from a time when he, as a true demon, had been completely and undeniably happy.  
  


It was that happiness that was causing Angel's nightmares, though. His mind brought forth images of the horrendous tortures he'd inflicted on the London populace after each of his dates with Tanner. The mortal had made the vampire feel all tender and sweet and had turned his insides to mush, feelings which he had abhorred an hour after parting from the young man.  
  


Drusilla was another unpleasant memory that kept popping up in Angel's mind. The female vampiress had been jealous the time he spent with Tanner after that first week, and she'd set about making her unhappiness known. The vileness of her gifts to him as she had tried to bring his attention back to her turned Angel's stomach even now, over a century later. Angel remembered that he had finally given Dru a quest to find a mortal homosexual female, with true red hair and brown eyes, in order to get her out of his sight and allow him freedom to pursue his obsession with the handsome boy, Tanner.  
  


Not all the remembrances were unpleasant. Quite the contrary -- Angel was having a very hard time keeping his hands off of Tanner because of them. He had been moments away from giving up his control and passionately attacking the mortal when Cordelia had unintentionally come to his aid by whisking Tanner away to show him the marvels of the just-starting twenty-first century... beginning with the shopping mall.  
  


And, of course, Cordelia had taken Angel's money with her.  
  


Angel dropped his head onto the backrest of his chair and shut his eyes. Wesley had left for the library roughly three hours before to research the local conditions in London at the time Tanner had stepped into the future. Normally, his associate would simply use the computer in the main office to do such research, but Angel knew there was a certain blond divorcee who worked at the library and whom Wesley felt would give him the assistance he needed for his arduous task.  
  


A smile tugged at the corners of Angel's lips. Love was in the air, and it made both humans and demons alike do funny things.  
  


Angel remembered the night over a hundred-odd years ago that Tanner had invited him to a dinner party the mortal's father was hosting. The vampire recognized the signs of love now as he thought back, but at the time he hadn't known he had fallen for the sable-haired youth.  
  


The dinner party had been like any other dinner party the vampire had attended when he'd been on the hunt, with mortals dressed in their middle-class finery, sipping sherry and smoking cigars. The food itself had been delicious, according to Tanner, but since his sister had made the meal he'd been hard-pressed to be impartial.  
  


Angel remembered that it was after the meal had been served, when the men had retired to the study and the women to the parlor, that the soulless vampire he once was had almost lost his precious control. At the meal, Tanner and he had sat at the opposite end of the table from the mortal's father. He'd engaged in light conversation with William Tanner II's attorney friend and the attorney's wife. Tanner had sat across from the vampire, as was custom, and his shy, softly spoken additions to the conversation had shown his intelligence and had endeared the human even more to the dark-haired vampire's heart.  
  


After dinner, in the study, Angel remembered that Tanner had offered to pour him a glass of sherry. The vampire had accepted and watched with hungry eyes as the sable-haired young man walked away. The finery Tanner had been dressed in had made the vampire want to rip every last stitch of the fine clothes to pieces. The boy's crisp white shirt was in great contrast to his sharply pressed burgundy waistcoat and matching burgundy cravat. It had been while he'd been fantasizing on what he'd do once the moral was fully nude that he'd inadvertently overheard Tanner's father.  
  


And it had taken all his willpower, plus some, not to jab the cigar cutter that'd been in his hand into William J. Tanner, the second's, throat.  
  


The recollection of the cruel things Tanner's father had said about the youth incensed Angel even now. It reminded him of the way his own father had treated him, but at least the human named 'Liam' had deserved much of the insults and dressing down of his character. The mortal Angel had once been had been a lazy, self-serving, whoring, drunken fool, who refused to work only because his father had wanted him to.  
  


Tanner, on the other hand, had a beautiful soul, had done what he'd been told, had helped his sister, had earned his keep, and had tried never to make waves with those around him. And yet, his father had spoke of his only son -- with Tanner in the room, no less! -- as if Tanner was a leper, a boy to be avoided at all costs lest his shyness or his homosexuality rub off on anyone.  
  


Angel knew now, logically, that Tanner's father had been lashing out because of his disappointment that the Tanner name wouldn't be continued. But, back then, the vampire had wanted to tear the elder Tanner's tongue out and eat it before the man's very eyes.  
  


Angel took a purposeful breath in order to calm himself. It wouldn't do him any good to get upset over something that happened a very long time ago, even though, to Tanner, the event hadn't even occurred yet.  
  


That thought pulled Angel back to the task at hand : finding out how Tanner came to be in the present and why. Over the past two days, with the help of his co-workers, he'd found a complex spell that would send Tanner back to his own place and time, without memories of the unexpected visit to the future, but they'd found no answers as to Tanner's appearance to begin with.  
  


Was the human a part of a prophecy they'd yet to uncover? Was his appearance to remind Angel that not everything that had happened before he'd gained his soul was bleak and horrid? Or was it a reminder of another life he had destroyed?  
  


Angel sighed unhappily. When his thoughts weren't in the past, they were going round and round over the question as to why Tanner was in the year 2000. There had to be a clue somewhere.  
  


The phone rang and Angel picked it up, grimacing when he remembered the last time he answered the phone a telemarketer had about talked his ear off. "Hello?" he said tentatively.  
  


"Angel? It's Rupert. Rupert Giles," Giles's voice said clearly across the line.  
  


Angel relaxed back in his seat, glad it wasn't a dreaded operator, then straightened immediately when the name clicked in his mind. "Rupert, what's wrong? Is it Buffy? Is she okay?"  
  


"What? Oh, yes, yes, Buffy is fine," Giles reassured him. "Everyone is fine here."  
  


Angel thought he heard a "Hey!" shouted in the background over the phone. "That's good. Um, so..." He let the prompt dangle, waiting for the ex-Watcher to go on. When the other man didn't, he hid a sigh and said, "Rupert, why are you calling?"  
  


"Right, er, my apologies," Giles said. "Spike is making a nuisance of himself, as usual."  
  


The dark-haired vampire's brows went up. "What is Spike doing there?"  
  


"He's... well, disappearing," Giles replied.  
  


"He's what?"  
  


"Dis-disappearing," Giles repeated. "As in, becoming more translucent. I can see through him and he isn't too thrilled with that fact."  
  


Angel frowned in thought. "Is he a ghost?"  
  


"No," Giles said. "I can touch him readily enough, and he is able to pick up and move objects on his own. No walking through walls and such."  
  


"Do you think maybe he had an invisibility spell cast on him?"  
  


"To what purpose?" Giles asked in return. "Willow and Tara have both denied casting any such spells, Spike is adamant about _not_ wanting to be invisible and-and we can think of no one else who would want to bother with casting such a spell on him."  
  


Angel heard Spike in the background, undoubtably telling Giles off for the subtle insult he'd spoken. Only Spike would have the balls to tell off the person who was trying to help him.  
  


"How long has he been like he is?" Angel asked.  
  


"It seems to be a gradual dissipation of his solidity," Giles replied. "According to Spike, on Thursday afternoon, when Xander had gone to see if he was in Sunnydale, as Cordelia -- a-and I presume, you -- had requested, he said he awoke feeling odd. On Friday morning, he noticed he could see the bright light from the television shining through his hand. By that night, he said he was able to see the dull glow of a burning out street light and the blurry outline of the lightpost through his hand. Now, today, I can see through him myself, but not, er, perfectly clear."  
  


Angel's hand had frozen in the midst of reaching for a pencil at the words "on Thursday afternoon," and the rest of what Giles had said barely seeped into his mind.  
  


Thursday afternoon was when Tanner had appeared in the office of Angel Investigations.  
  


Thursday afternoon was when Spike woke up feeling odd.  
  


Tanner had been in the year 2000 for two days.  
  


Spike had been slowly disappearing over the past two days.  
  


"Holy shit," Angel swore.  
  


"I-I beg your pardon?" Giles said over the line.  
  


"Oh, sorry, Rupert," Angel said, cringing at his crass words. "I just realized what may be happening to Spike."  
  


"And it caused you to speak an obscenity?" Giles sighed. "Now, why do I get the feeling I'm not going to want to pass the information on to Spike?"  
  


"You're not," Angel answered simply. "And I'm not going to tell you what's happening, either. At least, not yet."  
  


"And why, pray tell, is that?" Giles asked.  
  


"Because I'm not sure if I'm correct or not," Angel said. "Just keep an eye on Spike. If he asks, tell him I'm working on the answer."  
  


"Very well," Giles agreed. "Please call as soon as you can."  
  


"I will," Angel said. "And call me if there's a notable difference in his translucence."  
  


Angel hung up after saying his goodbyes and stared blankly across the office. Spike was disappearing. That in and of itself wasn't such a heartache. The blond bastard had tortured him, had gone after those he cared for and loved, and had helped to send him to hell.  
  


No, not him -- _Angelus_.  
  


Spike had aligned with Buffy against Angelus, something that was almost unheard of for the younger vampire to do. Granted, opening the demon dimension wasn't one of Angel's soulless counterpart's brightest ideas, but he still hadn't expected Spike to turn against him. In fact, he would have picked anyone out of a trillion vampires who'd turn against him over Spike. Even Drusilla.  
  


But, Spike had done it; Angel, with his soul intact, had gone to hell; and the world had turned on. And later, Spike had returned to Sunnydale, spouted nonsense about love and hatred, and then left again only to return and torture the dark-haired vampire for a piece of jewelry. Then again, Spike always was a sucker for a pretty gem.  
  


Angel stood and walked into the main part of the office to pour himself a cup of what Cordelia claimed to be coffee. Coffee made him jittery, but, right then, he needed something to jolt him out of his shock.  
  


Because, if what he thought was true, Tanner's presence in the future was altering history.  
  


Angel swallowed a sip of the bitter brew, made a face, then tossed back the rest as his mind turned over the new piece to the puzzle he'd been given by Giles. If Tanner's being in the future was changing the past, would it also mean that Angel's memories would start to fade, as well? Would the events that occurred as a direct result of Spike being a vampire never have happened? Would Spike have ever existed to begin with?  
  


Angel knew immediately that the answer to his last question was a firm 'no.' Spike, the vampire, would never have existed if the mortal hadn't met Angelus. Tanner would have lived out his human life, never learning of the viciousness and atrocity of vampirism. He never would have lost his pure soul and adorable shyness. He never would have stopped blushing every time sex was referred to, despite being made love to every night for nine months before he was turned.  
  


The little devil inside Angel's conscious spoke up, adding to his list. Tanner also may have never known what it felt like to be truly loved for who he was. He may have never known the touch of another man. He may have died from any number of things before he'd even received a simple kiss from someone who desired him.  
  


Angel leaned his back against the doorframe to the inner office and stared bleakly at the chipped wood across from him. The first kiss that he'd shared with Tanner was one of the most wonderful experiences in his long life. In fact, every experience that he'd had with Tanner rivaled those he cherished having with Buffy. Or rather, Angelus had.  
  


"Damn, I'm getting a headache," Angel muttered, banging the back of his head lightly against the doorframe. Angel, Angelus; Angelus, Angel. Same body, same memories, same knowledge of what true love felt like, same knowledge of losing that love.  
  


"What I wouldn't give for a simple case," Angel sighed, moving back over to his desk to continue researching. "Like a six-ton, elephant-like Percius demon that breathes fire and is virtually unkillable."  
  


But, instead of a Percius demon, Angel's mind conjured up memories of two-ton elephants and first kisses on a quiet night in June.  
  


*****  
  


_London, Thursday, 16 June, 1872_  
  


Angelus and Tanner strolled through the Regent's Park Zoo, the bright full moon providing all the light they needed. They were the only two people there, the zoo having closed at sunset. Angelus had wanted to do something different with Tanner and, while waiting for Tanner to finish helping Beth so they could go out, the human's niece, Mellie, had been extolling the virtues of the trip to the zoo she'd made that day.  
  


The animals were noisy in their cages, the night bringing the predators out of their daytime slumber. Angelus smiled each time Tanner jumped, startled by an animal's call. The vampire briefly wondered what would happen if he were to roar himself in true demon fashion. More than likely, Tanner would faint like a silly woman.  
  


Hmm, Angelus thought. If Tanner fainted, he'd have an excuse to loosen the human's clothing. Perhaps fawn over the boy a bit. A wicked smile curved the vampire's lips.  
  


"I don't think I l-like that smile," Tanner commented. Three weeks of going out with Angelus every night had managed to displace most of the young man's shy stutter. He was more comfortable in Angelus's company, allowing their nights out to be more enjoyable. More companionable.  
  


Angelus both loved and hated it.  
  


He desperately wanted to kiss Tanner. He wanted to drink the mortal's shy smile, sip the intelligence of his speech and lightly bite his witty tongue. Angelus wanted to feel the warmth of the human as he held the lad pressed against him. He wanted to hear Tanner's soft moans and breathy gasps of excitement that he had caused with his lips and teeth and tongue.  
  


Three _weeks_ of waiting for the right time to kiss Tanner. Three _weeks_ of Tanner's intense blue gaze, his honeysuckle scent and watching his kissable lips move as he spoke. Three _weeks_ of leaving Tanner's company in painful arousal and having to fuck his prey before brutally killing them.  
  


There was something about Tanner, though, that prevented Angelus from simply taking what he wanted. Every time the vampire came close to pouncing, Tanner would turn and smile bashfully at him, or blush a new shade of red, or make a quiet joke that would have him laughing loudly.  
  


Even worse, he felt incredibly happy from just being in Tanner's company. It was sickening, but he couldn't seem to change it. He truly liked Tanner as an individual, not as a new pet or as a meal.  
  


"What's wrong with me smile?" Angelus asked as they paused outside of another animal exhibit.  
  


"It matches his," Tanner replied, pointing at the golden lion pacing in the back of the cage.  
  


"Mayhaps 'tis because I'm a hungry predator, as well," Angelus teased.  
  


Tanner's defined cheekbones colored as he jokingly asked, "And wh-what's your prey?"  
  


"Blue-eyed lads with dark hair," Angelus answered with a wink.  
  


"Angelus." Tanner blushed even darker.  
  


Angelus chuckled. He pointed to the elephants across the path between the cages and they headed over to them. "Your niece said these great beasts were her favorite," he commented.  
  


"Prolly because she got to feed 'em," Tanner said.  
  


Angelus turned away from the elephants and leaned back against the cage. "Have you ever been t' India, lad?"  
  


"I haven't even been to the bloody Wax Museum," Tanner replied with a small bite in his voice.  
  


Angelus knew to steer clear of topics surrounding Tanner's bastard of a father, for they could easily ruin a good night out. If, in the long run, it wouldn't hurt the boy, the vampire would break the man's neck in an instant. However, Tanner cared deeply for Beth and Mellie and, without their father to support them, they'd end up on the streets... or worse.  
  


"Not t' worry, Tanner. India isna that wonderful a place," Angelus told him. "But, in the land o' the dark-skinned, the people ride elephants like horses. 'Tis a very smelly way t' get from one place t' another."  
  


"You rode on an elephant?" Tanner asked in amazement.  
  


"Aye," Angelus replied. "And on camels, as well. I'd recommend the elephants, though. They be a much friendlier animal."  
  


It was at that very moment one of the elephants in the zoo chose to show her species' friendliness by snaking her trunk through the cage bars and snuffling Angelus's hair.  
  


Tanner burst out laughing, the sound echoing in the zoo, causing the animals to hoot and holler. Angelus scowled, shoved the elephant's trunk away from him and grimaced when he felt a slimy substance in his hair. Tanner clutched his stomach and laughed even harder at the expression of disgust on Angelus's face.  
  


"Are you laughin' at me, boy?" Angelus asked in an angry tone.  
  


"Yes," Tanner chortled.  
  


"An' do you think that be wise?" Angelus said, taking a menacing step closer to the laughing man.  
  


"No," Tanner gasped between laughs as he backed away from Angelus, stopping when the giraffe cage was at his back.  
  


"Well, then, dinna you think you should stop?" Angelus said, pinning Tanner to the cage with one hand on either side of the young man, gripping the black bars tightly.  
  


"No," Tanner sniggered.  
  


Angelus arched an imperious brow. "This be your last warnin', lad. Stop your laughin' at me or pay the consequences."  
  


"Maybe I want to pay the consequences," Tanner said, a husky teasing note in his voice as his laughter died away.  
  


Angelus's nostrils flared as he inhaled sharply, the scent of honeysuckle overpowering the dirty scent of the zoo. The moonlight shown down upon Tanner's flushed face, the white light creating small diamonds in the sable-haired mortal's blue eyes. Angelus could hear Tanner's heartbeat pick up and the younger man started to breathe faster as the current of electricity that seemed to flow between them sparked.  
  


With aching slowness, Angelus leaned closer to Tanner. He watched as the younger man's eyes fell shut and heard the mortal's breath catch in anticipation. Angelus wet his lips, closed his eyes, and pressed his mouth to Tanner's.  
  


The world exploded into light behind Angelus's closed eyelids. His mouth began to tingle and he could not prevent the quick inhale of unneeded breath. The vampire's heart felt like it had started again and the sound of it pounding in his ears drowned out the sounds of the animals.  
  


Angelus brushed his lips back and forth over Tanner's until the younger man's mouth parted. He felt Tanner grasp the front of his shirt as he angled his head and deepened the kiss. Angelus groaned in the back of his throat when he felt the tentative brush of Tanner's tongue on his lower lip.  
  


Angelus took the invitation and plunged his tongue into Tanner's open mouth, sweeping the inside of the warm cavern without hesitation. Tanner's body radiated heat that Angelus could feel through their clothing as he pressed himself closer to the other man. He heard Tanner moan softly and the vampire almost came in his trousers at the sound he'd been longing to hear.  
  


The dark-haired vampire broke the kiss abruptly, leaving them both panting heavily. His half-lidded gaze hungrily drank in Tanner's darkly flushed face and moist, swollen lips. Tanner's blue eyes were wide and full of swirling emotions -- desire, wonder, happiness and confusion.  
  


With another groan, Angelus bent and captured Tanner's mouth again in a short, possessive kiss. The tingling in the vampire's lips spread throughout his body like wildfire. He pulled away with a gasp and shut his eyes tightly as he tried to regain his control before he took Tanner hard against the cage.  
  


"Crikey," Tanner breathed, a light break in his voice.  
  


Angelus chuckled softly and opened his eyes. "Aye, 'tis 'crikey' indeed," he agreed. He forced his hand to let go of the cage bar and brushed his thumb across Tanner's warm cheek. "I've been wantin' t' do that fer weeks."  
  


"Why'd you wait?" Tanner asked, then turned a deeper shade of pink.  
  


"I dinna know, lad," Angelus replied truthfully. He gave Tanner a devilish smile. "But now that I know that you liked me kissin', I'll be doin' it all the bloody time."  
  


"Like n-n-now?" Tanner suggested with a bashfully hopeful look.  
  


"Aye, like now," Angelus agreed, and he pressed his mouth to Tanner's for the third of many kisses to come.  
  


*****  
  


_Los Angeles, 2000_  
  


Angel quickly rose to his feet when Cordelia led a stunned-looking Tanner past him and into the lift to his apartment. "Tanner... Cordelia, what happened?"  
  


Cordelia gave Angel an innocent look. "We went shopping," she said, pulling the lift gate shut. "Right, Tanner?"  
  


Tanner's glazed eyes stared blankly at the lift wall.  
  


Angel took the stairs and met Cordelia in his apartment, a scowl firmly in place. He put is arm around Tanner's shoulders as soon as the gate opened and led the sable-haired man towards the bedroom.  
  


"Tanner, are you okay?" Angel asked.  
  


Tanner slowly turned his head and blinked owlishly at the vampire. His pale face contrasted greatly against his borrowed dark shirt.  
  


Angel swore silently and helped the mortal sit on the edge of the bed. He quickly divested Tanner of his boots, unbuttoned the top two buttons of the young man's shirt and gently pushed him back on the bed.  
  


"Rest," the vampire instructed, brushing Tanner's slightly-curled hair back from his forehead. Tanner stared up at him dazedly. Angel unconsciously let out a soft purr of comfort and brushed a kiss on Tanner's brow. "You'll be okay, heartling. Just rest."  
  


Angel shut off the night-stand light and headed out of the bedroom. Cordelia was sitting at the kitchen table, a plate of cookies in front of her. He speared her with a furious look as he came to a halt on the opposite side of the table and folded his arms across his chest.  
  


"What?" Cordelia said. "I only took him shopping. Is it my fault that the Spike Clone couldn't handle it?"  
  


"Where did you take him?" Angel asked in a clipped tone.  
  


"The mall," Cordelia answered. She snorted disdainfully. "He made a pig of himself over _Cinnabon_. It was so embarrassing."  
  


Angel pressed his lips in a thin line and waited.  
  


Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Okay, he acted like a shy little boy who was afraid of his own shadow every time someone got close to us. I had to hold his hand the whole day. Do you know how many potential dates I lost because of that?"  
  


"Why didn't you just come home?" Angel said, irritated.  
  


"There was a sale at _Bakers_!" Cordelia exclaimed.  
  


"You terrorized Tanner for _shoes_ ," Angel growled.  
  


"No, he liked the shoes," Cordelia said, biting into a cookie. "He even found me this really nice light blue strappy pair that'll look _so_ great with my daisy-chain skirt. Why is it that gay men have all the good taste?"  
  


Angel pinched the bridge of his nose. "Cordelia..."  
  


"I mean, look at you," Cordelia said, gesturing at him with her cookie. "You're half-gay-"  
  


"I'm half-gay?" Angel peered at her over his fingers.  
  


"- and you have great clothes," Cordelia continued. "They're all black, but they're still great."  
  


Angel sighed. Why was it he put up with her again?  
  


"Oh, anyway, Tanner was ooh-ahh over the whole mall experience until we went into _Spencers_."  
  


"You took him to _Spencers_?!" Angel exclaimed. Doyle had taken him to the specialty gift shop one November evening and it had taken him weeks to scrape his jaw off the floor over what had been available right on the shelf for the public to purchase.  
  


Cordelia nodded. "Tanner turned as red as a Coke can and started hyperventilating. I dragged him out of there and into the next store to ask him what his trauma was when he freaked even more. I thought gay men weren't supposed to get oogy over women's lingerie."  
  


Angel searched his mind for the store that was located next to _Spencers_ in the mall. His eyes bugged. "You took him to _Spencers_ then dragged him into _Fredericks of Hollywood_?!"  
  


"I didn't do it on purpose!" Cordelia exclaimed. "I wasn't schooled on the dos and don'ts for annoyingly shy homosexuals!"  
  


Angel pulled out the chair in front of him and sat down heavily. Poor Tanner. The sable-haired human couldn't even look at _men's_ undergarments without turning ten shades of red, which was why Tanner never wore any... one of many little somethings the vampire had loved about the boy.  
  


"I take it you brought him home after that?" Angel asked.  
  


"Yeah, I splurged on a cab," Cordelia said. "Not something I ever want to repeat."  
  


Angel groaned and dropped his head down on the table. First, she took Tanner to _Spencers_ and _Fredericks of Hollywood_. Then, she subjected him to a high speed ride in a California cab. Poor, poor Tanner.  
  


"Hello, all," Wesley greeted cheerfully as he entered the apartment.  
  


Angel grunted.  
  


"Trouble?" Wesley asked.  
  


"Ask her," Angel said, pointing at Cordelia without lifting his head.  
  


"Hey, if you didn't want me to take him shopping, you should have said so," Cordelia said.  
  


"Cordelia took Tanner shopping? Angel, are you certain that was a wise thing to do?" Wesley said.  
  


Angel raised his head and shot Wesley a glare. Wesley held up both his hands. "Never mind," the rogue demon hunter said. He joined them at the table. "I've found the information as requested at the library, Angel."  
  


"Good," Angel said, straightening. "If we decide to send Tanner back, I want to be sure nothing goes wrong."  
  


"If?" Cordelia questioned. "I thought sending Prepubescent Spike back was the main goal?"  
  


"We still don't know why Tanner is here to begin with," Angel said, ignoring her slight. "Until we figure that out, I don't want to chance sending him back to the nineteenth century."  
  


"Have you found any reference to a prophecy as of yet?" Wesley asked.  
  


Angel shook his head. "No, and I'm starting to think we won't," he replied. He went on to fill in his coworkers on his phone call from Giles and what had befallen Spike.  
  


Wesley tapped his chin when Angel finished, his brows furrowed in thought. "And you surmise that having Tanner here, in the future, is altering the past?"  
  


"Yes."  
  


"Wow, this is like a bad re-enactment of _Back to the Future_ ," Cordelia said. Both men looked at her in confusion. "Hello? Michael J. Fox? 80's movie? Scary neon vest?"  
  


"Do you know what she's talking about?" Angel asked.  
  


"Not a clue," Wesley replied.  
  


"Ugh! You people have _got_ to get a life!" Cordelia threw up her hands. " _Back to the Future_ was a movie about a kid who went back in time and messed up the history."  
  


"I don't know what-" Angel started to stay.  
  


"I'm not done," Cordelia interrupted. "You see, Marty -- that was the kid's name -- had this picture of his family. Every day that he was in the past changing history, another person disappeared on the picture until Marty was the only one left. Then _he_ started disappearing on the picture _and_ in real life because he'd stopped his parents from getting together."  
  


Cordelia stopped and bit into another cookie. Wesley and Angel waited for her to go on. She didn't.  
  


Wesley and Angel exchanged sighs. "Cordelia, what happened next?" Wesley asked.  
  


"Next?" Cordelia said with a confused frown.  
  


"In the movie?" Angel prompted.  
  


"Oh, well, Marty made it so his parents fell in love, everyone reappeared and they had lots of money," Cordelia said.  
  


"So, what you're saying is..." Wesley frowned. "What are you saying?"  
  


Cordelia sighed dramatically. "The past is being changed because Tanner is here, not back in the dark ages where he belongs. _That's_ why Spike is pulling a vanishing act. Pretty soon, bye-bye blond himbo."  
  


"Blond himbo?" Angel smirked.  
  


"Well, um, colorful descriptive aside, I concur with what Cordelia suggests is happening with Spike," Wesley said.  
  


"That was my conclusion, too," Angel said. He slumped back in his chair and tapped the table with his fingers. "Trouble is, what are we going to do about it?"  
  


"Let the himbo go," Cordelia said promptly. She grinned at her rhyme and ate another cookie.  
  


"It's not that easy," Angel said.  
  


"Why not?" Wesley asked.  
  


Angel frowned. "What do you mean?"  
  


"Tanner is living, breathing human being. Spike is a vicious, evil vampire-"  
  


"With his fangs capped," Cordelia interjected.  
  


"-who destroyed many lives during his reign of terror," Wesley went on. "You have a chance to save all those people as well as that shy young man's soul. What other choice is there?"  
  


Angel glanced back towards the dark bedroom. "Tampering with history is wrong. Everything happens for a reason."  
  


"Yes," Wesley said. "Including Tanner appearing in the future before your soulless persona met him."  
  


"So you think Tanner is here because I'm supposed to save his soul?" Angel asked.  
  


"It's your job," Cordelia pointed out.  
  


Angel traced a heart on the tabletop with his finger. "It's still not that easy."  
  


"Why?" Cordelia said.  
  


The dark-haired vampire's face transformed into its true countenance in an instant and he snarled, "Because it isn't!"  
  


Angel stood abruptly, his chair scraping on the floor, and he stalked to the sink. He gripped the edge of the counter, dropped his chin and closed his golden eyes. He fought for control over his demon.  
  


"Angel?" Wesley said tentatively.  
  


"I... Angelus... he..." Angel took a purposeful breath and blew it out sharply. "Angelus loved Tanner as much as I loved Buffy."  
  


Cordelia gasped and Wesley murmured, "My word."  
  


"Should I take that away from him... from me?" Angel asked, turning to face his friends. His ridges stood out plainly on his brow. "Would I have been able to love Buffy if my unsouled self hadn't learned what love was with Tanner? Would I have made the same choices if I hadn't met him? Would I even have my soul?"  
  


All three of them were silent for a long time, each thinking about what Angel had said. Angel forced his human mask back over his features and swallowed back the lump in his throat. Tanner, and subsequently Spike, was such an intricate part of the twenty years before he regained his soul, he couldn't even picture what unlife would have been like without the dark-haired man.  
  


"You said Mr. Giles would telephone if Spike's condition changed?" Wesley inquired, breaking the silence. Angel nodded. "Then the decision need not be made at this very moment." The ex-Watcher stood. "Come along, Cordelia. Let us go gather the spell components, just in case."  
  


Cordelia rose and gave Angel a consoling look. "It'll all work out, Angel, you'll see. We live in California, a gay man's mecca, next to Miami. Tanner will fit in just fine."  
  


Angel watched as Cordelia and Wesley went up in the lift before he moved. His long strides carried him across the apartment to the bedroom quickly. The light from the living room cast a soft glow in the bedroom, allowing Angel to easily see the sleeping man on his bed.  
  


Tanner was laying on his stomach, both arms under the pillow his head was resting upon. His face was peaceful in sleep, his long lashes like dark half-moons against his skin. His breathing was deep and even, and Angel could hear the slow rhythm of the young man's heart clearly in the silence of the bedroom.  
  


Angel crouched down beside the bed, his brown eyes caressing Tanner's sleeping features. He and the boy had slept together as often as they could before Tanner was turned. As much as the vampire had wished it, Tanner had refused to simply move in with him because they were intimate. It wasn't proper, Tanner had told him over and over again.  
  


"Hearts and flowers and love, that's all you ever wanted," Angel murmured softly, reaching out to twist a lock of Tanner's dark hair around his finger. "Could you find them here in the future?"  
  


With a sigh, Angel released Tanner's hair, straightened and left the bedroom. He had a lot of thinking to do, even though he wanted nothing more than to crawl into the bed with the sable-haired human, cuddle up to his warmth and reminisce about all the nights the vampire spent holding Tanner in his arms. 

 

**Part Five**  
  


_London, Friday, 2 September, 1872_  
  


The flat was blessedly empty. Angelus had sent the minions out with strict instructions not to return until Monday eve. Drusilla was at her new pet's for the weekend, torturing and playing with the redheaded, brown-eyed female she'd found as her Sire had requested. This, of course, meant that no one was around to interrupt Angelus's carefully planned seduction of the human named Tanner.  
  


Angelus's bedroom was lit with hundreds of flickering candles, each carefully placed to cast a soft, yellowish glow on the queen-sized bed in the center of the room. The four-poster canopied bed was dressed in the finest linens, with the heavy blankets turned down. The dark curtains that surrounded the bed were tied back with gold silk cords, and several plump pillows lay in wait to be used.  
  


On the small table beside the bed sat a fancy glass bottle of honeysuckle scented oil, specially ordered. A neatly folded hand towel rested next to it. A pitcher of water and a basin were on the table's back corner beside a small vase holding a single silver rose.  
  


Tanner gasped, his blue-eyes huge as he looked around the bedroom. He tugged at the collar of his soft, well-worn white shirt and swallowed heavily. A drop of water from his still-damp hair trailed down the side of his neck to disappear beneath his neckline.  
  


"Are you pleased?" Angelus asked quietly, watching the young man closely. He'd been preparing for this night for weeks, wanting everything to be perfect for their first time. For reasons he couldn't define, Tanner was special to him and he no longer wanted to try to figure out why.  
  


"Wh-wh-what's th-this?" Tanner stuttered, his normally flushed complexion paling.  
  


"'Tis obviously a bloody failed attempt t' seduce ye," Angelus growled, spinning around to grab the doorknob. He had to leave before he hurt the boy.  
  


"You w-want me?" Tanner said, his soft voice full of wonder.  
  


Angelus's gaze snapped to Tanner, his brogue thick because of his anger and disappointment. "Nay, I've been dallying wit' ye fer months because yer an ugly sot wit' the intelligence o' a gutter rat. Now, get the bloody fuck out o' me home afore I throw yer arse out me window."  
  


"Angelus," Tanner said with worry. He took a step towards the vampire and went to put his hand on Angelus's arm, but Angelus batted him away.  
  


Tanner's blue eyes reflected hurt before he dropped his chin and stammered, "I didn't... I've never been sed-seduced before. I hav-haven't... I-I'm still..."  
  


"Yer still untouched, aye, I know this, Tanner," Angelus finished. He swept his arm out towards the room. "'Tis why I be goin' t' all this trouble t' make it special, an' no' just take ye on the street like I want t' every time ye look a' me wit' them pretty blue eyes o' yers."  
  


"I didn't know," Tanner admitted, his voice barely audible. A red flush stained his cheeks and the tips of his ears.  
  


"I've been kissin' ye fer months, lad, how couldna ye know I wanted ye?" Angelus grasped Tanner's chin and made the younger man meet his eyes. "That Anna mate o' yers had t' have told ye o' the birds an' the bees."  
  


"Sh-she did," Tanner said. His guileless gaze spoke of his belief in his next words. "But I keep expectin' to wake up a-and find you're only a soddin' dream."  
  


The anger left Angelus in a rush and his disappointment was replaced with a flood of tenderness. "I'm real, Tanner," he said, his thick brogue retreating. He ran his thumb over the younger man's lower lip. "And I fancy you, in me bed, cryin' out me name as I give you great pleasure."  
  


The darker flush of arousal crept over Tanner's skin. "Angelus," he said in a bashful tone.  
  


"I need t' know if you want this, Tanner," Angelus said seriously. "Once I've taken you, I'm no' goin' t' go back t' just kissin' mates."  
  


Tanner licked his lips, and Angelus forced himself to release the youth and take a step back before he simply attacked. "I'll give you a moment t' decide," the vampire said.  
  


"Yes," Tanner said immediately. He dropped his chin in embarrassment at his abrupt response, pulled at the material of his shirt and whispered shyly, "Yes, I want this. I want you."  
  


At the sable-haired young man's declaration, something unfurled in Angelus's heart that he'd never felt before. He closed the distance between them, thrust his hands into Tanner's thick, dark hair and brought his mouth down upon the other man's.  
  


Tanner sighed softly in pleasure at the beginning of the kiss, lighting a fire within Angelus that was quick to catch. Angelus angled his mouth over Tanner's, plunged his tongue between the boy's warm lips and tangled fiercely with the younger man's tongue.  
  


The sweet scent of honeysuckle was strong on Tanner because of his recent bath. Not even the walk over from Tanner's flat to Angelus's on London's dirty streets was able to mask the succulent smell of the floral soap.  
  


Angelus was panting heavily when he pulled away from Tanner's mouth and opened his eyes. Tanner's wonderous, excited blue gaze met his dark eyes, and the vampire knew he'd never wanted anyone as much as he wanted the young man standing before him.  
  


"Tanner, me heartling," Angelus said softly as he slid his hands from Tanner's hair to his shoulders. "Know this: I will never harm you nor allow any other t' harm you."  
  


Tanner's smile lit the room brighter than any candle could, and a blush of pleasure stained his high cheekbones. "I'm your heartling?"  
  


"Aye, that you are, lad," Angelus said, a tender smile crossing his lips. He squeezed Tanner's shoulders briefly then took a step back and began to unbutton his shirt, his eyes dancing with mischief. "And soon you are t' be a naked, well-satisfied heartling o' mine."  
  


Tanner made a sound of pleased embarrassment and dropped his chin. Angelus clicked his tongue, his deft fingers quickly working all the buttons. "Now, Tanner, there'll be none o' that lookin' away. I'm about t' make your fantasies come true-"  
  


"You have sundaes?"  
  


Angelus paused with his shirt half off his shoulders and stared at Tanner incredulously. Tanner was thinking of sweet treats? Now??  
  


Then, he caught the playful smile tugging at Tanner's lips. He pulled off his shirt and threw it at the young man, who snickered. "Most hilarious," Angelus said sarcastically.  
  


Tanner's eyes danced with humor when he looked up. Almost immediately, they darkened with desire.  
  


Angelus hid his knowing grin and started to undo the ties to his trousers. "You like what you see?"  
  


"Yeah," Tanner breathed, then blushed bright red and turned his back to Angelus. "S-s-sorry."  
  


The vampire chuckled and quickly stripped out of the rest of his clothing. "No need t' be sorry, Tanner. I'm expectin' you t' look at me, same as I'll be lookin' at you."  
  


"But it-it-it's not proper," Tanner said. He gestured to the bed, his back still to Angelus. "You're supposed to be un-under the blankets."  
  


"Am I now?" Angelus walked over to the bed, laid down and pulled the imported sheet over his nude body. He propped his head up on one hand and focused on Tanner. "Hmm, I think I like this 'proper' thing. I get t' watch you undress in comfort."  
  


Tanner let out a very unmanly squeak of distress, which caused Angelus to laugh heartily. "All right, lad. I'll shut me eyes," Angelus said, putting his hand over his eyes. He slyly peered through his fingers at the boy.  
  


Angelus bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from reacting as inch by precious inch of Tanner's bare flesh was revealed. The shy young man kept his back turned to the bed as he stripped out of his clothing, giving the vampire a good long look at the lean musculature of Tanner's back, buttocks and legs. Angelus could also see the tension in Tanner's shoulders and noted his small shakes of virginal fear.  
  


The dark-haired vampire drew blood from his inner cheek when Tanner turned around and hurried to the bed. The short glimpse of Tanner's taut body and semi-hard member in a nest of dark curls was enough to make Angelus wonder if he was going to last long enough to pleasure the younger man.  
  


"Can I open me eyes now?" Angelus asked, a note of strain in his voice, after Tanner settled beneath the sheet beside him.  
  


"Y-Yes," Tanner replied.  
  


Angelus dropped his hand. His lips twisted in an amused smile when he saw Tanner had the sheet pulled up to his chin. "You know what I've been curious t' find out?" the vampire said.  
  


Tanner shook his head, his face a rosy shade of red.  
  


"I've been wonderin' how...," Angelus took firm hold of the sheet, "...far down...," he tugged it out of Tanner's grip, "...your blush...," pulled it away from the younger man's body, "...goes...," and peered underneath the soft linen.  
  


Tanner's body lay exposed to Angelus's bold stare. "Beautiful," the vampire whispered before dropping the cover. He met the youth's uncomfortably embarrassed eyes and smiled devilishly. "Just as I suspected, all the way t' your toes."  
  


The sable-haired man turned his head away, but Angelus grasped his chin and forced Tanner to look at him again. "Dinna be shy, heartling," the vampire leaned over and brushed his lips over Tanner's, "I promise you'll enjoy our coupling."  
  


Tanner swallowed. "Anna said it prolly 'urts."  
  


Angelus released Tanner's chin and snaked his hand beneath the sheet. With expert ease, he found the young man's semi-erect penis, gripped it in a soft fist and began stroking it smoothly. Tanner gasped, his eyes growing as round as saucers.  
  


"Does that hurt?" Angelus asked with a small grin.  
  


Tanner let out a strangled cry and exploded almost instantly under Angelus's hand. Warm, sticky semen hit the bed sheet, Tanner's stomach and spread over the vampire's fingers. Angelus gave Tanner's shaft a few more strokes then released it and brought his hand back out from under the sheet.  
  


"Oh god," Tanner mumbled, turning his flaming face away. "I'm s-s-sorry."  
  


"Why?" Angelus asked. He licked the small amount of semen off his hand and closed his eyes in bliss at the taste.  
  


"Be-be-because I c-came al-already," Tanner stuttered.  
  


Angelus chuckled. "Ah, Tanner, me heartling, I plan for you t' orgasm many times afore the weekend is through."  
  


The vampire threw the sheet off his body and laid flat on the bed. He folded his hands behind his head. His legs were parted slightly, relaxed in his position of supplication. His penis was hard and lay against the dark curls surrounding it, the swollen head brushing his abdomen an inch below his navel.  
  


Angelus could feel Tanner's heated gaze on him. He turned his head and smiled tenderly at the boy. "I'm a bit cool t' the touch, but I react just the same."  
  


"You want me to touch you?" Tanner asked in a rush.  
  


"Aye, 'twas the general idea," Angelus replied, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.  
  


Tanner slowly moved onto his knees, the sheet carefully draped over his waist, and he observed Angelus from under his lashes. "Will you shut y-your eyes?"  
  


"Whate'er you wish, Tanner," Angelus said, letting his eyes fall shut. "'Tis your weekend."  
  


Angelus moaned deep in his chest at Tanner's first tentative touch. Propriety being what it was, Tanner's hands never ventured beneath the vampire's clothing during their many kissing sessions. It had been a test of Angelus's patience not to grind himself up against the other man like a young pup each time they were together.  
  


Tanner's fingers brushed lightly over Angelus's chest and abdomen. The vampire bit his lower lip. Tanner's hand gently squeezed the muscle of the other man's upper thigh. Angelus's cock jumped. The young man gasped softly.  
  


Angelus felt Tanner's hot breath on the skin of his hip and he wondered if he was going to die a second time. He could picture Tanner leaning close to him to better examine his erection. The thought caused his shaft to swell and jump again, and Tanner's sharp exhale of breath against his abdomen made him moan, "Ahh, Tanner."  
  


"Are you all right? Did I hurt you?" Tanner asked quickly, his voice tinged with worry.  
  


Angelus laughed and groaned at once. "Sweet boy, you're killin' me."  
  


"Is that... bad?"  
  


"Nay, 'tis very good."  
  


"Um... m-may I..."  
  


Angelus barely stopped himself from opening his eyes at the uncompleted question. "May you what, Tanner?"  
  


"Touch you like you touched me," Tanner rushed out.  
  


"Bloody hell, heartling," Angelus chuckled, "you be the most delightful creature I've ever met."  
  


"Is-is that a, er, y-yes?" Tanner asked quietly.  
  


"Aye, Tanner," Angelus replied. "Do as you wish."  
  


He shouldn't have said it, because Tanner did exactly as he wished and Angelus quivered all over. The strong, sure tailor's fingers enclosed Angelus's aching member, and the vampire hissed. A single, tentative stroke had Angelus throwing his head back and groaning throatily, "Tannnneerrrrr."  
  


Angelus let the physical feelings he'd been repressing for months run free and gave himself over to Tanner's innocent touches. He felt a soft kiss on his abdomen just below his navel and the world exploded around him into fiery pinpoints of bright white light. He gasped for unneeded air as his orgasm overtook him and he shot his cool seed onto his stomach and chest.  
  


Tanner was watching Angelus with a bashful smile curving up his pink lips when the vampire opened his eyes. Angelus reached up and pulled Tanner down to him, their mouths meeting in a gentle kiss. It slowly grew more passionate, their lips parting to allow their tongues to tangle together. The sheet over Tanner's waist was pressed between them, soaking up Angelus's spent passion.  
  


Angelus purred softly into the kiss and Tanner broke away. The sable-haired mortal gave the vampire a confused look. "What was that?"  
  


Angelus brushed Tanner's dark curls back from his forehead. "'Tis a sound I make when I'm happy."  
  


Tanner tilted his head to one side. "Do it again."  
  


The vampire smiled and purred again, the quiet sound rumbling in his chest.  
  


"You sound like a bleedin' cat," Tanner told him.  
  


Angelus laughed lightly and shifted the younger man until he was laying flush atop of the vampire, the sheet no longer between them. He smoothed his hands down Tanner's back, over the youth's buttocks and to the backs of his thighs. Tanner shivered and blushed.  
  


"Drop your legs t' either side o' me," Angelus instructed, gently tugging on Tanner's legs.  
  


"Wh-why?" Tanner asked, his forearms resting on either side of Angelus's head, propping him up.  
  


"Do you trust me, Tanner?" Angelus said, reaching out to take the glass bottle of oil from the table beside the bed.  
  


"Yes," Tanner replied.  
  


"Then drop your legs," Angelus repeated.  
  


Tanner nibbled on his lower lip and slowly dropped his legs to either side of Angelus's hips.  
  


"Good boy," Angelus said as he expertly dribbled some of the oil down the crack of Tanner's buttocks. Tanner gasped and arched his body in reaction. The vampire smirked and set the bottle back on the table.  
  


"Tell me, Tanner. Have you ever played wit' yourself," Angelus's first two fingers followed the path of the oil, "down here?"  
  


Tanner blushed furiously, even as he gasped again in reaction to the vampire's gentle probing. "N-no," he stammered.  
  


"Liar," Angelus whispered silkily. He slid the tip of his slick forefinger into the hidden entry between the muscular globes. Tanner writhed atop of him, the younger man's cock hardening between them. "Did you use your fingers, lad? Hmm?"  
  


"Angelus." Tanner looked everywhere but in the vampire's eyes.  
  


"No?" Angelus pushed his finger further inside Tanner's hot channel. "Did you use a toy you got from the back rooms o' a humidor shop?"  
  


Tanner shook his head no as he started to pant.  
  


"I'm at a loss," Angelus said with a fake sigh. He gently worked his finger in a circle, stroking Tanner intimately. "You'll have t' tell me."  
  


Tanner violently shook his head no again, his face beet red.  
  


"Very well," Angelus pulled his finger partially free, "if you willna tell me, I'll find someone else who will."  
  


"No!" Tanner exclaimed. Angelus arched his brow expectantly. The young man looked up at the ceiling as he mumbled, "Anna."  
  


"Anna touched ye?" Angelus said with a small snarl.  
  


"No, sh-she made me a-a-a," Tanner's voice squeaked on the final words, "man's part."  
  


Angelus relaxed and grinned rakishly. "Is it as big as me?"  
  


"I said man's part, n-not a boy's," Tanner muttered.  
  


The vampire smacked Tanner on the ass with his free hand. "I heard that."  
  


"Oi, don't smack me bum." Tanner scowled at Angelus.  
  


Angelus only smiled in return and began to slide his finger in and out of Tanner's tight passage. Tanner's eyes widened and he inhaled sharply. "Bugger," the sable-haired man breathed.  
  


"Soon," Angelus said with a wink. Tanner flushed again, but was too busy panting to reply.  
  


A second finger joined the first, making the young man moan deep in his throat. As Angelus continued to loosen Tanner's tight ring of muscle, Tanner began to thrust himself against the vampire's abdomen, his hard shaft rubbing against Angelus's coarse curls and skin.  
  


Angelus heard Tanner's breathing hitch as the boy came close to orgasm and the vampire stroked his fingers purposely against the sable-haired man's sensitive gland. Tanner threw his head back and cried, "Angelus!", as his climax hit him. His hot seed was spilt between their bodies and Angelus moaned softly when the viscous fluid warmed his cool skin.  
  


The vampire kept his fingers inside Tanner, but he kept them still while the young man started to calm in the aftermath of his orgasm. Angelus waited patiently, allowing the human to catch his breath and slow his racing heartbeat. Angelus knew that Tanner would be able to have one more orgasm before he needed to sleep.  
  


Tanner lifted his head from where it had fallen on Angelus's shoulder, and half-smiled. Angelus brushed a quick kiss on the boy's lips. "Lay beside me on your stomach," he said quietly as he slipped his fingers free. Once Tanner had moved, Angelus knelt up, took one of the pillows and, with soft words of instruction, placed it under Tanner's pelvis.  
  


Angelus moaned quietly at the sight of Tanner's rounded backside. He grabbed the oil from the table beside the bed, then settled himself between the younger man's legs. The vampire's erection, jutting proudly from his body, was soon coated liberally with the honeysuckle-scented oil. He then poured a line of oil between Tanner's shoulder blades, down along the youth's spine and ending with a drizzle between his asscheeks again.  
  


The bottle was placed back on the table with a stretch from Angelus. He settled back on his heels, ran his eyes over the length of supple flesh before him and sighed with pleasure. This was how he had wanted to see Tanner from the moment he'd laid eyes on the lad.  
  


Angelus cupped the muscular globes of Tanner's buttocks and used his thumbs to draw the soft cheeks apart. He licked his lips when the shiny rosette was exposed. His cock throbbed in anticipation of being sheathed within the hot, tight passage of the man laying before him.  
  


Rising up on his knees, Angelus pressed the weeping crown of his turgid shaft against the puckered opening. He could see the tension radiating from Tanner, although the sable-haired man had uttered nary a peep.  
  


"'Twill hurt at first, heartling," Angelus said in a low, soothing voice as he slowly pushed forward. He used his thumbs to massage the tight ring of muscle on either side of Tanner's virginal passage. "But I promise 'twillna hurt for long."  
  


Tanner let out a choked-off whimper as Angelus fully sunk into the young man. The vampire hissed at the tightness and heat that surrounded his cock to the hilt, the velvety channel spasming around him as Tanner's body tried to adjust to the invasion.  
  


Angelus moved only his thumbs in a circular pattern along Tanner's stretched entry for several long minutes. The dark-haired vampire kept the rest of his body still, allowing Tanner to become used to having a real cock deep inside him in the most intimate of ways.  
  


Then, slowly, without moving his hips, Angelus slid his hands up Tanner's prone body, collecting the oil and spreading it out on the sable-haired youth's back. Angelus began to knead Tanner's tense muscles, the honeysuckle scent of the oil helping to relax the other man.  
  


The vampire continued to massage Tanner for a long time, staving off his desire to pound into the boy's hot, tight passage. He wanted Tanner's first experience with another man to be memorable because of pleasure, not because of pain. It was an odd want for a vampire, especially for him, but everything about the sable-haired lad made him feel truly alive, as the saying went. His desire for the boy's companionship beyond that in bed was something unheard of, unless the other was also a vampire.  
  


And Angelus did not want Tanner to become a vampire. He liked the sable-haired young man too much as he was -- a shy, witty, handsome, caring, warm, sweet human who could knock the vampire out with a smile and destroy him with a kiss.  
  


Angelus kissed Tanner's shoulder blade and heard a content murmur in response. With a small smile, the vampire slowly drew his hips back, his thick length sliding within Tanner's oil-slicked passage. Angelus continued to rub Tanner's shoulders, back and buttocks as he gently thrust forward again.  
  


Tanner moaned quietly, "Do it again."  
  


"Wit' pleasure," Angelus said, pulling his hips back. He began a slow, steady rhythm, barely completing a full thrust in and out within ten seconds. His hands worked their magic on Tanner's muscles, keeping the young man relaxed and receptive.  
  


"Aaah, sweet Tanner," Angelus groaned when Tanner began to wiggle beneath him. He stopped his massage to grip the other man's hips. "Keep wigglin' like that an' I'm no' goin' t' be able t' keep control."  
  


"But I need... I want..." Tanner tried to rub his hips down onto the pillow. "Angelus, please."  
  


Angelus growled in excitement, lifted Tanner up onto his knees and slid his hand around the other man's waist. He wrapped his fingers around Tanner's marble-hard shaft and lost control when Tanner hissed, "Yessss."  
  


The vampire started to thrust faster and harder, stroking Tanner with the same rhythm. White-heat began to flame low in Angelus's belly until it engulfed him completely. "Tanner!" he cried in a rough voice as an orgasm shook his large form.  
  


"Angelus!" Tanner yelled out, his body bucking beneath the vampire's as his climax hit him.  
  


Angelus barely registered the hot semen that coated his hand as he and Tanner collapsed. The dark-haired vampire rolled off of the other man and onto his back, panting in animalistic fashion in the aftermath of his orgasm.  
  


Tanner, still laying on his stomach, turned his head and looked at Angelus with sparkling, half-slitted eyes. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice deep and throaty.  
  


"Nay, heartling, 'tis I should be thankin' you," Angelus said softly, turning on his side to face the younger man. He reached out and brushed his finger along the rim of Tanner's ear. "You've given me somethin' you can only give once in a lifetime. Sentimental crap or no', I'm honored you've allowed me t' be the man take your virginity."  
  


Tanner blushed. "But I-I still haven't..."  
  


Angelus winked. "But on the morrow, you will."  
  


Tanner's blush became darker and he buried his nose in his pillow, flustered. Angelus laughed lightly. Turning further onto his stomach, the vampire wrapped his arm around Tanner's waist, threw his leg over Tanner's legs and partially laid on top of the boy in order to nuzzle his nose into Tanner's neck.  
  


"Rest," Angelus whispered, placing a quick kiss on Tanner's soft skin. Tanner turned his face away from Angelus and let out a slow breath, his body completely relaxing.  
  


Angelus shut his eyes and began to softly purr in contentment.

 

**Part Six**  
  


_Los Angeles, Sunday, 28 May, 2000_  
  
  


"Angel!"  
  


Angel's eyes snapped open at the irritated exclamation of his name. He noted several things instantly. First, his face was on his desk in a puddle of drool. Second, he'd been woken up from the middle of a dream about his first time with Tanner -- specifically their second day, when the young man lost his last vestiges of virginity. Third and last, there was an uncomfortable wetness in his pants.  
  


The dark-haired vampire raised his head and blinked his blurry, sleep-filled eyes to clear them. Cordelia was frowning at him from the other side of his desk. "What time is it?" Angel asked.  
  


"Nine," Cordelia replied. She gave him a critical look. "And it looks like you slept at your desk."  
  


"That's because I did sleep at my desk," Angel said. He glanced down at his lap, grimaced and scooted his chair closer to his sleeping surface to hide the dark wet spot.  
  


"Couldn't take being that close to shyboy and not being able to touch him?" Cordelia said.  
  


"No," Angel lied.  
  


"Yeah, whatever," Cordelia said. She pointed to the telephone. "Giles is on the phone for you."  
  


Angel reached for the receiver. "Will you go downstairs and check on Tanner for me?"  
  


"Why? Tanner's up here." Cordelia pointed to the other office. "He said he's been up since six, reading the paper."  
  


As Cordelia walked away, Angel closed his eyes and prayed he hadn't spoken or, worse, moaned in his sleep. He picked up the receiver and put it to his ear. "Hello, Rupert."  
  


"Angel," Giles's voice came clearly over the line. "Good morning."  
  


"I take it that Spike's condition has changed?" Angel asked, knowing that was the only reason the ex-Watcher would be phoning.  
  


"Yes," Giles replied. "He is significantly more translucent than yesterday. He opted to stay here on my couch last night and when I awoke this morning, I almost sat on him."  
  


"Because you didn't see him there," Angel said.  
  


"Correct," Giles said. "He was most put out."  
  


"I can imagine." Angel looked towards the other office and saw Tanner seated on the couch, reading the newspaper with a small furrow between his dark brows. "Can you estimate how long you think it'll be before Spike completely disappears?"  
  


"At the present rate he's, er, vanishing, I'd say he will no longer be in existence by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."  
  


"Damn," Angel sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Only a day to decide."  
  


"Decide?"  
  


"Yeah," Angel said. He quickly explained the situation with Tanner and the conclusions he and his coworkers had drawn. Giles was as equally confused over the _Back to the Future_ reference as Angel had been.  
  


"Well, Angel, I don't envy you and the choice you must make," Giles said when Angel finished.  
  


"What would you do?" Angel asked. "If you had to make the choice that would alter the past, what would you do?"  
  


"A person can have many loves in one lifetime, Angel, but a person will have only one soul."  
  


"Thanks, Rupert," Angel said. He hung up the phone after saying goodbye, turned his chair fully around and stared unhappily at the yellowish wall. Cordelia and Tanner's voices floated to him from the other office, followed by laughter.  
  


A pang hit his heart at the happy, unfettered sound. How could he send Tanner back and destroy that beautiful, untainted laugh?  
  


Angel sat silently contemplating his choices, glad that, for once, no one interrupted him. Spike had about a day left before he would completely disappear, which meant history would be forever changed if Angel didn't cast the spell before then. A box with the spellbook and spell components sat on the filing cabinet across the room, waiting to be used.  
  


"What would happen if history did change?" Angel asked himself quietly. The vampire doubted that he'd suddenly find himself back in Sunnydale. Tanner was right here, which meant here he would stay as the past changed. If Angel or Cordelia or Wesley up and disappeared abruptly, Tanner would be alone. It was unlikely that the Powers That Be or whomever had pulled the sable-haired young man into the future'd had that in mind. No, Angel would bet that the past would still unfold as he knew it, only slightly altered because Spike would no longer be a factor.  
  


Angel stood and looked through the window separating his office from the outer office. Tanner's ears were red and he was smiling bashfully at Cordelia. Wesley walked in at that moment and cheerfully greeted them, and Angel watched as Tanner ducked his chin shyly and mumbled hello.  
  


"Wesley, can I speak to you a second?" Angel called, glad that the wet spot on his pants had dried.  
  


"Hello, Angel," Wesley said as he entered the inner office. "What can I do for you?"  
  


"I'm not sending Tanner back," Angel said without preamble.  
  


"I see." Wesley looked through the open inner office door. "And have you informed Tanner of your decision?"  
  


"Not yet," Angel said. He lifted a hand and rubbed his eyes. "I will later today."  
  


"You've made the right decision, Angel," Wesley told him.  
  


Angel sighed. "I know."  
  


"But..." Wesley prompted.  
  


"But I'm going to miss him," Angel admitted.  
  


"I've pondered the dilemma and have come to the conclusion that not much shall change in terms of what we have experienced," Wesley said. "Plus, those of us who have knowledge of Tanner's presence will remember who he is, but the memories of Spike will eventually fade."  
  


"And I'll eventually forget what it was like to love him," Angel said.  
  


"Yes," Wesley said. "However, I think that watching that young man in the other room live a full life will make that transition easier."  
  


"I never wanted Tanner to become a vampire, you know," Angel said, moving to the shaded window. He carefully pulled back the shade slightly and looked out. "When he... died, a part of me died with him."  
  


Wesley leaned against Angel's desk. "I take it your feelings for Tanner didn't transfer to the vampire he became."  
  


"No, they did," Angel said, his voice dropping as a past full of blood and sex and violence crept through his mind. "But I almost had to relearn how to love him. William had the same humor, intelligence and passion, but he didn't have Tanner's shyness. He didn't blush every time I suggested we adjourn to the bedroom. He didn't have the same innocent smile."  
  


Angel dropped the shade, his vision focused inward, and a wicked smile curving up his lips. "Although loving another vampire had its pluses, too. There are some things that can only be shared-"  
  


"You needn't go into detail," Wesley interrupted.  
  


Angel shook off the memories and turned to his coworker. "Needless to say, I did love William, too, in a different, very vampiric way," he said as he walked back to the window between the offices. "We were together for twenty extremely interesting years. Drusilla wasn't a problem between us, and neither was Darla when we met up with her in Romania in the 1890's."  
  


Angel paused and once again glanced into the inner office, watching Tanner as he neatly folded the portion of the newspaper he was reading, set it on the couch beside him on the pile already there, and took the next section. Angel smiled tenderly at the young man's actions, tears forming in his eyes as he continued.  
  


"But my demon's love for Tanner was that once-in-a-lifetime type of true love that ended when his life ended," Angel said, his throat tightening from emotion. "Saying goodbye to him is going to be like having him die all over again."  
  


"But Tanner is not going anywhere," Wesley said in confusion.  
  


Angel gave Wesley a sad smile. "He's leaving my heart."  
  


*****  
  


_London, Wednesday, 29 June, 1873_  
  


The Drummond Street pub was bustling for a Wednesday night. Angelus had a hard time getting any sort of service, which normally would've pissed him off, but he was in a decidedly cheerful mood. Drusilla was, for once, behaving quite nicely and not like the insane vampiress she really was. Tanner was laughing and blushing like an adorable little boy, while Anna told raucous tales about the patrons filling the pub.  
  


Angelus covered Tanner's hand with his, smiling tenderly at the sable-haired man, who returned the smile with a devastating one of his own. The vampire's heart swelled, and the feeling didn't bother him a bit because he had found the one thing that was better than blood and sex and violence.  
  


Love.  
  


The great and mighty Scourge of Europe was completely and thoroughly in love with a human. A handsome, shy, passionate, caring, wonderful human, who blushed and stammered and could do the most wicked things with his tongue. A human who was full of life, who could light a burning desire within Angelus with a single look and could make his heart feel like it was beating with a simple smile.  
  


It was a disgustingly good feeling, love. It put a bounce in the vampire's step, an extra sting in his bite and made him whistle while he was torturing someone. He'd even once found himself singing a love ballad as he carved out a newlywed couple's hearts from their bodies.  
  


Everything around Angelus seemed brighter; his senses were sharper and his mind was clearer. His plans went off without any hitches. His tolerance of Drusilla and Tanner's friend, Anna, was limitless. Even his luck at the card tables was without boundaries. And it was all because of his feelings for a bashful young man whose kisses made the vampire's lips tingle and whose laugh made his toes curl.  
  


Anyone who said love was a weakness was just jealous of those who found it. Angelus could not find a single detriment to being in love. In fact, if he'd known how much stronger and clever love would make him, he would have tried to find it a century ago. With the power of love behind him, he could have destroyed the old masters and made himself Supreme Master Vampire of Europe.  
  


Angelus felt the familiar desire to show Tanner how much he was loved stirring in his loins. The boy was staying with him for a few nights, over Tanner's protests about propriety, because

Drusilla'd had a vision earlier that day about an unbearable pain and darkness that was coming. Whatever it was, it would lead to a change that had the vampiress laughing wickedly and dancing around the flat. Until Angelus knew what the vision meant, he wanted to keep Tanner within arms' reach at night.

 

Angelus leaned closer to Tanner, who was sitting beside him at the table, to speak privately to the lad. "'Tis time t' leave, Tanner," he said quietly. "I've plans for you this eve that involve me lips and your bare skin."  
  


Tanner blushed and ducked his head, a flustered smile of happiness tugging at his lips. "Alright," he said softly.  
  


Angelus nodded in satisfaction, rose to his feet and spoke to the two females at the table. "Ladies, 'tis time t' leave."  
  


"Tanner's gettin' sha-agged, Tanner's gettin' sha-agged," Anna sang, none-too-softly, as she stood. "Tanner's gettin' sha-agged."  
  


"Anna!" Tanner stood quickly, his face bright red as he tried to put his hand over Anna's mouth.  
  


Anna smiled mischievously at him, threw her arm around his shoulder and led the way towards the door of the pub. "Tanner, I've been wonderin' if you've ever tried this position I've read about..."  
  


Angelus arched his brow as Anna's voice was swallowed up by the noise within the pub. He'd have to ask Tanner -- or, better yet, get a demonstration -- of what position Anna was speaking about.  
  


The vampire took Drusilla's arm and followed the two friends. "You've been a good girl, Drusilla," Angelus said. "I think you're t' get a reward for that."  
  


Drusilla smiled wickedly. "Is my daddy going to play with me?"  
  


"Aye," Angelus replied with a wicked smile of his own. "After Tanner goes off t' work on the morrow, I'll play wit' you until you beg me t' stop."  
  


Drusilla snapped her teeth at him and Angelus chuckled.  
  


"You'll have to tell me if it works or not," Anna was saying as the two vampires caught up with the two mortals as they exited the pub.  
  


"Tell you if what works?" Angelus asked as he released Drusilla's arm in order to walk beside Tanner. Tanner's red face, quick breathing and flustered squeak of "nothing" made Angelus resolve to get that demonstration.  
  


Anna laughed as they started up the street. "Perhaps I should tell him..."  
  


"No!" Tanner exclaimed.  
  


Angelus was about to tease Tanner further when he heard the loud retort of a gun being fired. He started to turn to try and locate the source when Tanner jerked and stumbled into him. Angelus caught Tanner by the arms to steady him. "Tanner, are you- Tanner!"  
  


Tanner's body weight carried a shocked Angelus down to his knees. The scent of fresh blood sent a wave of panic through the vampire.  
  


"Angelus?" Tanner said in a shaky voice, his face a ghostly pale.  
  


"No...," Angelus's eyes focused on the dark red spot blooming on Tanner's clothing, "no..."  
  


"I'll get help," Anna said before she took off running.  
  


Angelus couldn't move. He could only watch as the spot on Tanner's shirt grew larger and the scent of blood grew stronger. There was a roaring sound in his ears, as if he was standing on the ocean's shore as the waves crashed down.  
  


"An-Angelus, I'm c-cold," Tanner's weak voice cut through to him. "Very c-c-cold."  
  


The vampire mechanically removed his coat and covered Tanner with it. His focus slowly shifted to Tanner's pale face. "Tanner..."  
  


Tanner met Angelus's gaze for a brief moment before his eyes glazed over and his body went limp.  
  


"TANNER!" Pain exploded in Angelus, a thick, black, all-encompassing pain that washed over his body and made him shake uncontrollably. His heart felt as though it had been torn from his chest, leaving a gaping cavity of darkness.  
  


The infamous and powerful Scourge of Europe was unable to do anything but fall forward, his arms going around Tanner's still form as he pressed his face to the young man's stomach. The scent of fresh blood was overpowering, sending a lancing bolt of anguish to Angelus's heart. He began to plead with Tanner, his voice broken and full of raw agony, his brogue thick and barely understandable.  
  


"Tanner, dinna do this. Dinna leave me. Ye canna die. I canna be wit' out ye. I love ye, Tanner. Yer e'erthin' t' me. I love ye. Please, heartling, dinna do this t' me. I bloody need ye..."  
  


Angelus was engulfed with a heart-wrenching pain that blocked everything else out. He didn't hear Tanner's thready heartbeat or his slowing breaths. He didn't see Drusilla kneel beside Tanner's head. He didn't witness her lift Tanner's hand and sink her fangs into the younger man's wrist, nor did he see her press her own bleeding wrist over Tanner's mouth. He didn't hear her happy voice as she said, "You will be called William the Bloody, and we will be a family."  
  


The kind, Good Samaritans of London walking down the street steered far around the three, no one offering their assistance. London was a cruel city and the scene was nothing new. Not even the officer of the peace bothered to stop, his job of preventing crime more important than helping a victim that was no doubt deceased.  
  


Pounding footsteps on the pavement preceded Anna's return. "Tanner!" she yelled, dropping down on the sidewalk beside her friend. "Don't you dare die on me!"  
  


Angelus felt a hand on his head and a concerned voice ask, "What happened?"  
  


The vampire lifted his head and saw an elderly gentleman kneeling on the other side of Tanner. "Help him," Angelus said roughly. "Please, ye have t' help him. I need him."  
  


"I'll try," the man said. "But you have to let go."  
  


Anna pulled gently on Angelus, her voice full of tears. "Angelus, we have to give the doctor room."  
  


Angelus sat back on his heels, watching with grief-filled brown eyes as the doctor put two fingers to the side of Tanner's neck. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Drusilla swaying a few feet away, a pleased smile on her face.  
  


"I'm sorry," the doctor said. He closed Tanner's eyes, then pulled the coat up over the young man's face. "He's already gone."  
  


"Oh God, no," Anna gasped.  
  


Angelus stared at the doctor blankly as the words sunk in. When they did, his heart screamed with an anguish so powerful, he felt as though he were being ripped in two.  
  


For the first time ever, Angelus wept.  
  


**Part Seven**  
  


_Los Angeles, 2000_  
  


"This is going to be, by far, the stupidest thing you've ever done," Angel muttered to himself as he pulled the sliding door to his apartment shut. He stuck the key in the lock and turned it. "Stupider than drinking from Darla, stupider than eating that gypsy girl, stupider than falling in love with Buffy... although that was a good thing until you lost your soul and did the even stupider thing by trying to suck the world into hell."  
  


Angel tugged once on the door to make certain it was locked. "This is going to beat that Acathla thing by miles," he continued on, moving from the door to the grate that led to the electrical tunnels beneath the city. He bent and pulled on the grate, nodding in satisfaction when the chains wound between it and the second rung of the ladder below held tight. There was no chance he'd be able to get out that way.  
  


"If Cordelia and Wesley knew what you were about to do, they'd see if vampires could fly by throwing you off the top of the building...," Angel dropped the key between the grate slats, "...just as the sun was rising."  
  


Luckily -- or unluckily, depending on the point of view -- Cordelia and Wesley had gone home for the night and wouldn't return to the office until the morning. Angel figured that, by that time, his stupidity should have passed and the three of them could concentrate on getting Tanner accustomed to life in the year 2000.  
  


Tanner. Angel glanced back towards the bedroom on his way into the kitchen. He could hear the shower running and had no trouble picturing the sable-haired man under the streaming water. Angel could also picture himself joining the mortal and soaping down that beautiful body, which did nothing to help get rid of the uncomfortable bulge in his pants.  
  


"Having a hard-on and doing this is even stupider than just doing this," Angel said to himself as he took the small packet of white powder out of its hiding place. He sat down at the kitchen table and stared at the contents of the small, clear packet in his hand. "This idea is so idiotic, you're talking to yourself."  
  


Angel dropped the packet, put his elbows on the table and rested his head in his hands. Guilt warred with common sense in his mind. Since mid-morning, after deciding that Tanner was not going to be returning to his own time, the battle between his thoughts and feelings had been raging.  
  


It had been Cordelia who'd sparked the idiotic plan that was about to unfold. Wesley had taken Tanner with him to pick up some lunch and Angel had used that time to fill Cordelia in on his decision not to send Tanner back. During their conversation, she had commented that she was glad there wasn't going to be a dramatic "Buffy Goodbye Scene" and the brooding after-effects because Angelus wasn't around to say goodbye. Both the mention of Buffy and saying goodbye to Tanner had ripped a jagged wound in his heart.  
  


It had only been a year since he'd had to say goodbye to Buffy and it still hurt. It didn't matter that it had been the right thing to do; he had loved Buffy with his entire soul. Leaving her had thrown him into a black pit of despair that he had yet to fully climb out of and he doubted that he ever would. It helped that he'd recently had some sort of closure with her and, although he intensely disliked her new boyfriend, the bitterness of their necessary parting had finally been put to rest.  
  


However, with Tanner, he'd never had any sort of closure. The mortal had died unexpectedly by a random bullet, taking the boy away from Angel's unsouled self swiftly and suddenly. The vampire Tanner had become and whom Angel had grown to love was also abruptly severed from Angel's unlife due to the curse. When Angel'd lost his soul and rejoined with Spike and Drusilla, his hatred of Buffy, who had created that type of pure feelings in him that he'd ever only had with Tanner, had clouded what should have been a joyous reunion between himself and Spike.  
  


Spike had also changed during the time they'd been separated by the curse. The younger vampire had loved Drusilla with an intensity that was so similar to what Spike had once with Angelus that it had made the dark-haired vampire jealous, adding to the strain the Slayer had caused. That reunion had ended without any sort of closure when Spike smashed him on the back of the head with something, Angel had regained his soul and was ultimately sent to hell.  
  


Now, Angel was once again face-to-face with the mortal that he had, at one time, loved beyond reason, and he was about to change the course of history. Once he did that, any chance at closure with Tanner -- and Spike, too -- would be beyond reach forever. The man he'd laughed with and made love to would cease to exist, except in his mind, until those memories, too, faded into non-existence.  
  


And all of that would happen without his demon getting a chance to say goodbye.  
  


Angel couldn't do that to what was conceivably himself. The guilt and heartbreak was gnawing a hole in him as it was, because he was keeping Tanner in the future. His soulless self had loved Tanner with a love that had slowly transcended death transferred to William the Bloody. How could he take that sort of love away without a final goodbye?

 

The answer was, he couldn't, which was why he was planning on doing something so stupid, it redefined what the word "stupid" meant.

 

Angel was going to free Angelus.  
  


The shower went off and Angel took a purposeful breath. He mentally went over the checklist in his head one last time, knowing that once he tasted the drug, there was no turning back.  
  


First check, the four entries to the apartment were effectively blocked. Angel had disconnected the lift, blockaded the office door with the heavy desk, and dumped a bottle of holy water over the inside surface of that door, chained the grate so it could not be opened from inside the apartment, and locked the sliding door and dropped the only key down into the tunnels. He and Tanner were locked in the apartment until Wesley or Cordelia arrived the next morning and let them out.  
  


Second check, Wesley and Cordelia were gone for the night. He'd told both of them that he didn't want to even _hear_ either of them before tomorrow at nine. Of course, if Cordelia had a vision, she'd call.  
  


Which led to his third check, the small packet of the drug Bliss that he'd acquired earlier that afternoon. He planned to only take the barest amount he thought possible and drop the rest between the slats in the grate. That should ensure only a brief return of his soulless persona.  
  


Fourth and final check, Tanner's safety. It was the easiest one to check-off on his mental list. He knew, without a doubt, that no harm would come to the young man while the demon was in control. Angelus loved the human. It was as simple as that.  
  


"This is still the stupidest idea you've ever had," Angel muttered to himself as he picked up the packet and opened it. He licked his finger, stuck it in the white powder and wondered if there was a mental institution that specialized in moronic ensouled vampires.  
  


Angel heard the bathroom door open and he quickly stuck his finger into his mouth. He sucked the drug off his finger as he stood and crossed to the grate. He closed the packet, dropped it through the slats in the grate, and said a swift prayer to the patron saint of fools.  
  


He didn't recall how long it took for the drug's effects to kick in, because the last time he'd had it, it had been diluted with alcohol. The dealer he'd bought from ensured almost instant ecstasy from a "pure" hit, which Angel'd just had. He hoped it would work soon because waiting for it to take effect was guaranteed to make him a nervous wreck.  
  


Angel returned to the kitchen, sat back down, and listened to Tanner move around in the bedroom as he more than likely got dressed. The vampire groaned as images of Tanner's naked body popped into his mind. Souled or not, he couldn't prevent the attraction he had for the hard, lean form of that man.  
  


Angel closed his eyes and, the moment he did so, he became lightheaded. Bright white spots danced behind his eyelids and he started to unconsciously pant as his stomach turned over. He gripped the edge of the table as the world started to spin out of control. Without warning, it stopped and an unnatural warmth stole through his body.  
  


The bedroom door opened.  
  


Footsteps sounded across the hardwood floor.  
  


The scent of clean, human male drifted through the room.  
  


A heartbeat thumped rhythmically.  
  


The dark-haired vampire opened his eyes, saw Tanner and started to cry.  
  


"Tanner!" Angelus exclaimed. The chair he was sitting on crashed to the floor as he practically leapt at the younger man and, with a yelp of alarm from Tanner, engulfed him in a tight embrace. "Oh hell, Tanner, heartling, I've missed you so goddamn much."  
  


Tanner was stiff in Angelus's arms, his heartbeat pounding out a loud and fast staccato. The thick scent of fear greeted the vampire's senses and he choked back a sob. In his rush at being free and seeing Tanner without soul-clouded vision, he'd forgotten that Tanner hadn't met him yet in the past.  
  


"I'm sorry," Angelus bit out, releasing Tanner and taking a step back. He swiped at his face and growled at himself for being such a crybaby. "I didn't mean to scare you."  
  


"I-I-I didn't th-think I was in the-the WC th-that long," Tanner stammered jokingly.  
  


Angelus half-laughed, half-broke out into tears again. He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his fingers against them to prevent the tears from flowing.  
  


"Angel, are you all right?" Tanner asked with quiet concern.  
  


Angelus dropped his hand, opened his eyes and met the sable-haired human's gaze. His gasp was echoed by Tanner when, instantly, it felt as though lightning had struck him. The connection that Angelus had always had with Tanner flared between them like a live wire.  
  


Tanner took a startled step back. "I-I know y-y-y-you."  
  


"Yes," Angelus nodded, "you do."  
  


Tanner's blue eyes widened in fear. "But-but-but-"  
  


"Tanner, calm down," Angelus interrupted. "I don't have much time before the drug wears off and the schmuck is back in control."  
  


"Explain please," Tanner squeaked in a high-pitched, panicky voice, his hands twisting the material of his borrowed shirt.  
  


"You know what a vampire is, right?" Angelus said, knowing without a doubt that the boy did. He'd learned shortly after Tanner had become a vampire that Anna had been a Slayer-candidate who was never called. She had been a bitch to kill.  
  


"Anna's sh-sh-sh-shown me pictures," Tanner stuttered. "She told me to-to-to run if I ever saw a-a vampire."  
  


"I'm a vampire," Angelus said bluntly. "It was me in Wilson's dress shop that night."  
  


Tanner turned a ghastly shade of pale. Then, he bolted for the bedroom.  
  


Angelus winced when the bedroom door slammed shut and the lock clicked into place. He'd known it was a possibility Tanner would flee before his souled-self had taken the drug. Angelus also knew he could go and break down the door, but it wouldn't do anything other than increase Tanner's fear.  
  


With a sigh, Angelus moved into the living room and sat down. At least he'd had a chance to hold Tanner again, even if it was for a way-too-brief amount of time. When Wesley or Cordelia showed up in the morning, he'd let them explain the difference between a normal vampire and a souled jackass.  
  


It was funny: in the past, by the time it had been revealed that Angelus was a vampire, Tanner had been so in love with him it didn't matter, and it became their special secret. Tanner had been fascinated, rather than repulsed, by Angelus's ridges and fangs. Angelus remembered an entire evening spent lying still as the young mortal had caressed his face. The dark-haired vampire also remembered that he purred so loudly Drusilla had said she'd heard him at the opposite end of their flat.  
  


But now, it didn't matter how loudly Angelus purred or how happy they'd been together. The Tanner he'd loved more than anything was going to become nothing more than a fading memory by tomorrow afternoon and there was nothing Angelus could do about it. Not even turning Tanner could stop the inevitable. The past would still be changed and the boy cowering in the bedroom wouldn't become the vampire he'd also once loved.  
  


Angelus's head shot up when he heard a loud noise upstairs. Perhaps the night wouldn't be a total loss of soulless freedom, he thought, as he rose to his feet. He heard the door to the office splinter as it was forcefully opened, then an extremely familiar voice cursing up a storm as heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs.  
  


The dark-haired vampire leaned casually against one of the brick support columns in his apartment, with his arms folded over his chest and a smirk pulling up the corners of his lips. This was going to be fun, he thought.  
  


"Bloody hell, you soddin' poof! Why the fuck was the desk pushed up against an effin' locked door?"  
  


The casual stance and smirk disappeared almost instantly when he saw Spike.  
  


Or rather, when he practically _couldn't_ _see_ Spike.  
  


"Spike, you're almost invisible!" Angelus exclaimed, his brown eyes wide with shock.  
  


"No bloody shit, Sherlock," Spike said, stopping on the last step. "Giles already phoned you about me."  
  


"I know," Angelus said, walking over to take a closer look _through_ the peroxide-blond. "But having Giles tell me over the phone and actually... not seeing all of you-"  
  


"Peaches, hate to interrupt, but will you SODDIN' FIX ME!" Spike yelled.  
  


Angelus arched his brow. "You didn't say please."  
  


"What?" Spike stared at him incredulously.  
  


"Well, it's obvious that Rupert let slip that I knew what was happening to you," Angelus said. "But what makes you think that I would do anything to make you better?"  
  


"But... but..."  
  


"'But... but...,'" Angelus mocked. "But what?"  
  


"You can't let me just disappear!" Spike exclaimed. "I'm like one of those harmless wankers that you're supposed to help, soulboy!"  
  


Angelus leaned into Spike's personal space and smiled. "Who said I had a soul?"  
  


Spike's blue eyes grew round as saucers. "Angelus?"  
  


"Currently in control." Angelus bowed.  
  


The blond vampire swallowed and took a step back up the stairs. "H-How?"  
  


"The souled fuck took a drug called Bliss so that I could say my goodbyes to...," Angelus trailed off, his eyes darting to the bedroom then back to Spike.  
  


A second later, Angelus knocked Spike aside and tore up the stairs to the office. "Yes!" he exclaimed when he saw the cardboard box still sitting on the file cabinet. He grabbed it and ran back down the stairs.  
  


"Spike, take this," Angelus shoved the box at the nearly invisible vampire, "and set up."  
  


"I don't-"  
  


"Do it!" Angelus snapped. As Spike did as told, the dark-haired vampire went over to the bedroom door and banged on it. "Unlock this door!"  
  


He heard a cut-off scream of fear from the other side and he growled. He didn't want to scare Tanner, but he also wanted to get going before the drug wore off. "Tanner, unlock this door this instant! If I have to break it down, I'm going to eat your liver while you watch!"  
  


The door clicked a few moments later and Angelus wrenched open the door. His eyes immediately found the cowering sable-haired man in the corner of the bedroom almost hyperventilating in fear. Angelus crossed the room in three strides, grabbed Tanner by his borrowed shirt, hoisted him up and kissed him.  
  


Angelus's lips tingled when he broke the kiss. "I'm sending you home, Tanner," he said roughly. "To do so, I'm going to need you to do what I say without panicking, no matter what you see. Okay?"  
  


Tanner nodded wildly, his blue eyes shining in shock, fear and the barest hint of lust. Angelus groaned and kissed the mortal again, trying desperately to memorize the feeling of the warm mouth against his. He loved this human so much that even now, more than a century later, the feelings he had for the sable-haired mortal hadn't diminished one bit.  
  


"Let's go," Angelus's voice wasn't at all steady as he set Tanner on his feet after the kiss. The dark-haired vampire took two steps away and stopped abruptly at the young man's fearful stammering.  
  


"Why are y-y-y-you s-s-sendin' m-me back? I-I th-th-thought you said y-you weren't."  
  


Angelus closed his eyes against the tears that sprang from nowhere. "I lost you once, Tanner, and it almost killed me," he replied with raw emotion in his voice. "It doesn't matter that you're going to become a vampire as long as I can remember every single night I spent loving you."  
  


 

**Part Eight**  
  


_Los Angeles, 2000_  
  


Spike glanced up, looked back at what he was doing, then shot his surprised gaze back to Angelus as the dark-haired vampire exited the bedroom. "Are you _crying_?"  
  


"No," Angelus snarled at Spike, despite the tear tracks on his cheeks. "Is everything set?"  
  


"Yeah," Spike replied cautiously. He gestured to the Circle on the living room floor. "You're good to go."  
  


Angelus nodded, walked over and joined the Circle. He picked up the spellbook and opened it to the marked page. He could feel Tanner when the young man exited the bedroom and the vampire had to shut his eyes again to keep control.  
  


"Who's the git?" Spike said at the same time Tanner gasped loudly.  
  


Angelus swiped his hand across his cheeks, then looked over at Tanner. "Come over here, heartling."  
  


Spike glanced sharply at Angelus as Tanner hurried and joined them in the Circle. The nearly invisible blond vampire curiously examined the human with huge blue eyes.  
  


"An-Angel," Tanner stammered while staring at Spike. "What the bloody hell is-is going on?"  
  


"Don't worry about it, Tanner," Angelus said, ignoring Spike's startled exclamation. "We have to start the spell to send you back. All I need for you to do is sit still and, before you know it, you'll be home again."  
  


Tanner nodded. Angelus looked the scared boy over from head-to-toe and swore softly. "Tanner, go change. Your shirt and jacket are in the wardrobe closet."  
  


The sable-haired mortal scrambled to his feet and hurried back into the bedroom.  
  


"Angelus, what the bloody hell is going on?" Spike hissed, keeping his voice down. "You called that bloke 'Tanner.'"  
  


"That's you, you moron," Angelus said. "The human you."  
  


Spike's mouth fell open. Angelus rolled his eyes, put his finger under Spike's chin and snapped the blond's jaw shut. "Don't freak on me, Spike. I need you to help me work this spell so I can send Tanner back."  
  


Spike jerked his chin away from Angelus's fingers. "I don't 'freak,' peaches."  
  


"Watch it, Spike," Angelus growled. "You're not dealing with soulboy."  
  


"You don't scare me," Spike muttered, shifting further away from Angelus.  
  


Angelus smirked and returned to reading over the spell. It was a complicated one, which would send Tanner back through time minus his memories of the future. If the vampire performed it correctly, history would have nary a glitch and Angelus would keep his memories of loving the shy, handsome, sable-haired human who'd meant everything to him.  
  


Tanner returned dressed in his nineteenth century clothing, and he retook his seat within the Circle. He kept his head down but stared at Spike from under his lashes.  
  


"Are you ready, Tanner?" Angelus asked. Tanner nodded. The vampire looked at Spike, who was blatantly staring at the mortal. "Spike?"  
  


"Yeah, mate, I'm ready," Spike replied.  
  


Angelus took a purposeful breath and let it out slowly. With a final glance at Tanner, the vampire began the spell.  
  


*****  
  


Angelus stood in the bedroom, trying to keep his skyrocketing emotions under control as he held the shirt that Tanner had been wearing. The spell had gone off without a hitch and Tanner had disappeared with little fanfare. Almost instantaneously, Spike had became solid again and Angelus knew that meant history had been fixed.  
  


The vampire lifted the shirt to his nose and inhaled deeply. Tanner's clean, purely male, human scent assaulted his senses, tainted with the scent of the young man's fear. He missed the boy already, even though he'd only gotten to be with Tanner again for a very brief time.  
  


"Tanner's still here, you know."  
  


Angelus glared at the blond in the doorway. "What do you mean?" he bit out, angry at being disturbed.  
  


"Come on, Angelus, you can't be that stupid," Spike said, gesturing to himself.  
  


Angelus snorted derisively. "You're _not_ Tanner."  
  


"I still have his memories," Spike said. "I still have his feelings and desires."  
  


"Why the fuck are you still here?" Angelus said, not interested in getting into a fight with Spike. His emotional control was reaching his limits, and all he wanted was to be left alone.  
  


"Why did you send him back?" Spike asked in reply.  
  


"Damn it, Spike. Just drop it and leave before I end your worthless unlife," Angelus growled.  
  


"I want to know, Angelus," Spike said. "From what I gathered when I overheard Giles, the souled-fuck wasn't going to do anything to fix me. So, why did you?"  
  


"I didn't do it for you," Angelus said with as much distaste he could put into his voice. "I wouldn't do anything for _you_."  
  


Spike winced as if he'd been hit, but he persisted. "Then why'd you do it?"  
  


Angelus dropped the shirt and had Spike pinned up against the doorframe in two strides, his dark eyes spitting with anger. "Because I loved him more than you will ever know."  
  


There was a brief pause as the two master vampires glared silently at one another, then Spike said something that shattered what was left of Angelus's control.  
  


"I do know," Spike's blue eyes were unwavering as he finished in a low, steady voice, "because I loved you with my last mortal breath and I loved you with my first eternal one."  
  


Angelus didn't know why Spike said what he did, but it caused something deep inside the dark-haired vampire to break. With an uncontrollable whimper, Angelus crushed his mouth to Spike's.  
  


It felt like it was only yesterday, rather than a hundred years, since Angelus kissed the other vampire. Memories and emotions bombarded Angelus and dragged a feral growl from him.  
  


He plundered Spike's mouth savagely, giving no quarter. His hands ripped at the blond's clothing. His sudden need for the other man -- the man he'd loved in both life and death -- was overwhelming in its intensity, and any remaining control he had was shred to pieces.  
  


Angelus abruptly pulled his mouth away from Spike's, spun and threw the blond across the distance to the bed. Spike landed on his back with a squeak of the bed springs. Angelus was upon the younger man instantly, tearing at Spike's remaining clothes until he was fully naked. A tiny voice in the back of Angelus's mind prompted him to snare the hand lotion he kept under the bed.  
  


The dark-haired vampire yanked his pants and boxers down far enough to free his hard member. He squirted a large amount of the lotion on his cock and dropped the bottle to the floor. Then, he grabbed Spike's legs, pulled the other man to the edge of the bed and slammed home.  
  


Spike threw his head back and howled in pain at the abrupt intrusion the same time Angelus roared in pleasure. Angelus began to pound into the blond vampire without hesitation, the hand lotion lubricating the tight passage. The dark-haired man's fingernails dug deeply into the skin of Spike's thighs, creating small rivulets of blood that ran down the pale skin before dripping onto the bedspread.  
  


The scent of the blood brought more memories to the foreground of Angelus's mind. Days and nights of violence and death and sex with William, the vampire Tanner had become, flickered like a movie against the dark-haired vampire's closed eyelids. Tendrils of long-forgotten emotions snaked through him, wrapped around his heart and squeezed.  
  


Angelus unknowingly started to chant with each thrust, "Love... you... love.... you... love... you... love... you... love... you... love... you..."  
  


The cry of "ANGELUS!" echoed off the brick walls of the bedroom, and the dark-haired vampire's eyes snapped open. Angelus's golden orbs focused on Spike as the younger man orgasmed by his own hand, the off-white, viscous semen spurting onto the blond's chest and abdomen.  
  


The fire started low in Angelus's belly and expanded outward until he was engulfed by the flames of his orgasm. With an animalistic snarl, he bent forward and sank his fangs into Spike's neck. Blood exploded into his mouth, the thick, coppery taste setting off his climax the instant it hit his tongue.  
  


Angelus drove his hips up against Spike's buttocks, burying himself as deep as he could into the blond's grasping channel. Wave after wave of mind-numbing pleasure slammed into Angelus and his entire body violently shuddered as his cold seed filled Spike's tender passage. A vibrant spectrum of colors swirled behind his tightly closed eyes until they formed a solid image of the man he had once and, he realized, he would always love.  
  


Tanner.  
  


William.  
  


Spike.  
  


Small trembles still shook Angelus's form as he raised his head, his ridged brow smoothing. His deep brown eyes met Spike's brilliant blue ones, and the world shrank until Angelus felt they were the only two beings in existence. The words came without hesitation, borne from a demon's heart that had stopped beating long ago, but could never stop loving.  
  


"I had thought that greeting the sunrise would be the only way to stop the pain in my heart when Tanner died," Angelus said in a rough, emotion-filled voice. "Then, Drusilla gave to me, as a gift, a newly-created vampire she called William the Bloody."  
  


Angelus shifted his weight, raised his hand and lightly ran his fingertips over Spike's cheek. "William slowly filled the gaping hole in my heart, and I allowed myself to love him as one vampire truly loves another...," his fingers brushed over Spike's lips, "...but I lost William as well, to circumstances beyond anyone's control."

 

The dark-haired vampire ran his fingers back along the younger man's jawline. "Years passed, and a new vampire came into my life. He calls himself Spike, and he is a master vampire, hardened by time and experience. An equal. My heart is telling me to allow him in and give myself to him in return."  
  


Angelus's eyes never strayed from Spike's as he asked in a raw whisper, "Even though I won't be here for long, will you let me love you, too?"  
  


Spike looked Angelus for a very long moment before he answered.  
  


"Yes."  
  


And then, he smiled.  
  


It started as a small pinprick of warmth in the center of Angelus's chest. It spiraled outward from that spot and spread throughout his body like wildfire on a dry summer's day. For the barest instant, he stiffened, then he fell headlong into the greatest feeling next to love.  
  


Happiness.  
  


Angelus threw back his head and laughed as complete and utter joy suffused his heart, all because of Spike's smile. He knew, without a doubt, that his soul had just taken a permanent holiday. Uncaring of how ridiculous he was acting, he rained kisses down on Spike's face, punctuating each one with words of love.  
  


"I'm," kiss, "going," kiss, "to," kiss, "love," kiss, "you," kiss, "my," kiss, "sweet," kiss, "Spike," kiss, "with," kiss, "the," kiss, "tightest," kiss, "ass," kiss, "in," kiss, "the," kiss, "universe," kiss, kiss, kiss.  
  


The dark-haired vampire giggled maniacally when he raised his head and found Spike staring at him like he'd gone off the deep end. He rolled the two of them so Spike was on top, Angelus's soft penis slipping out of the younger man's body.  
  


A broad grin slashed across Angelus's face, lighting up his eyes, and he proclaimed loudly, "I am the happiest vampire in the world!"  
  


"You mean you're the bloody insanest vampire," Spike countered, a frown marring his brow. "And isn't the line: 'I'm the king... of... the..."  
  


Angelus waggled his brows as Spike trailed off. Comprehension flashed across the blond's features and his mouth fell open as he stared down at the older vampire.  
  


"If you keep doing that," Angelus reached up, put his fingers under Spike's chin and closed the other man's mouth with a snap, "I'm going to think you want me to stick something in your mouth." Angelus winked. "Of course, I'm planning to do that anyway..."  
  


"Angelus!" Spike exclaimed.  
  


"Spike!" Angelus exclaimed with the same inflection, mocking the younger vampire.  
  


Spike scowled at him. Angelus laughed, snagged the back of the blond's hair and dragged Spike down for a searing kiss.  
  


When they parted, both vampires were panting heavily and wearing matching foolish grins. Angelus dropped a final kiss on the tip of Spike's nose. "Off," he instructed, giving Spike's ass a smack.  
  


"Oi, don't smack me bum!"  
  


In a second, Angelus was transported back more than a hundred years, to when Tanner had exclaimed that very same thing the first time they'd been intimate. A smile spread across his lips when he remembered that William had also repeated that exclamation the first time they'd been together. It was only fitting that Spike said it, too, on this, their first time.  
  


"I going to love you, Spike," Angelus promised, looking up into the blond vampire's eyes. "Like I loved Tanner and I loved William, I am going to love you, too."  
  


Spike's lips twisted into an amused smile. "I think you've been soulboy too long, mate. You're starting to get all flowery."  
  


Angelus gave Spike a solid shove, and the blond vampire tumbled to the floor. Sitting up, the dark-haired vampire shook his head. "Spike, Spike, Spike. Don't you know it's not wise to tease your betters?"  
  


"I know that," Spike said, climbing to his feet. He dropped into a loose fighting stance, his naked form glistening with sweat, blood and come from their coupling. "But none of my betters are here right now..."  
  


Angelus stood and yanked up his pants as Spike let his insult trail off. Then, Angelus launched himself at the blond, just as the older man knew Spike expected.  
  


The sounds of two master vampires fighting echoed throughout the apartment until they were replaced by soft sighs of pleasure and purrs of contentment that needed no explanation at all.  
  
  
  


**Epilogue**  
  


_London, 12 August 2045_  
  


Angelus slid his arms around his lover's waist and rested his cheek against the blond's hair. "What're you thinking about, Spike?" he asked quietly.  
  


Spike sighed and leaned back against Angel, his eyes focused on the flickering fire in the fireplace. The bright lights from the London city street shown through the open window of their flat. Boisterous voices from the pub a few doors down floated to them on the late summer breeze.  
  


"I was thinking 'bout those pictures we saw at the gallery you dragged me to the other night," Spike said.  
  


Angelus smiled. "You mean, the ones of us in the 'Gay Pride, A Pictorial History: 1845 to 2045' exhibit?"  
  


"Yeah, that one," Spike said.  
  


"What about it?" Angelus asked.  
  


"Do you miss him?" Spike asked in reply.  
  


"Tanner?" Angelus said. Spike nodded, his hair rubbing against Angelus's cheek. The dark-haired vampire sighed softly. "Sometimes. Usually when I smell honeysuckle."  
  


Angelus kissed Spike's tensed, bare shoulder. "But Tanner's not with me anymore. He's only an image in a few faded photographs that are part of the tackiest display I've ever seen."  
  


Spike snorted and relaxed again in Angelus's embrace. "Tacky doesn't begin to cover it, mate."  
  


"I have an idea," Angelus said. "Why don't we hunt down the people in charge of the exhibit and torture them to death?"  
  


"Can we shag first?"  
  


Angelus chuckled and turned Spike so the younger vampire was facing him. He brushed a soft kiss on Spike's lips and murmured, "Of course, my love."  
  


Wearing a blush caused by the firelight staining his skin, Spike smiled happily, and Angelus fell in love with the other man all over again.  
  


**End**


End file.
